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crescenthoax · 11 months ago

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a nightmare before Christmas.

🎄or an Annika, Floris, Willa and targtowers Christmas tale🌟

Part one

Part two

Parth three

Summary: Aemond, Daeron, Aegon and Helaena had different things planned for Christmas, but one same fate: their father’s old cabin.

Basically an i’m never gonna love again christmas modern AU because we need to spread some joy on these times and I wanted to write something fun. Mainly centred around Aegon x Female OC.

This is part 1/3. Part 2 coming soon.

🧣⋆.ೃ࿔*:･⍣ ೋ *ੈ🎄‧₊˚ . *ੈ✩‧₊˚ ೃ࿐🌟

“Skiing isn't exactly my strong suit, and you guys know it,” a sharply depressed Floris sighs, watching Annika and Helaena packing as if they were going to the space for five months rather than the Targaryen retreat ski cabin in Aspen. “I thought we agreed that this year would be just the three of us for Christmas. No parties, just peace and quiet.”

“And that's why it's a perfect plan,” Helaena reminds her, with an ear-to-ear smile, something quite uncharacteristic of her occasionally too melancholic personality. Helaena flops down beside her on the bed. “I know you're sad about Aemond, but there's no reason for you to shut yourself in during the holidays. If you don't want to go home, then let's go to Aspen for Christmas.”

“Do you remember our trip to Aspen for graduation?” Annika intervenes. Floris shakes her head; everything was very blurry. “Exactly! And we had fake IDs that weren't accepted at three out of five places. Now it's all legal, babe. Plus, I'm tired of getaways to big cities. I want peace and wildness at the same time.”

“Odd,” Helaena deduces. “What Annika means is that we're going to have a good time. We'll have hot chocolate and all those Christmas things without necessarily the suffocating party Annika's father organizes every forsaken year. By the way, what did you tell him to not go home this year?”

She looks at her nails disinterestedly while appearing thoughtful. “They're busy with the baby, you know. And I think Rhys will go this year, so they won't really miss me much.”

“You usually like going home for the holidays,” Floris insists, knowing that since the moment Annika suggested they stay in the United States instead of going back to London, something must have happened. “Is everything alright?”

“Yes, of course. I just don't want to go back this year. You don't want to run into Aemond, Helaena wants to create new traditions, and I want to drink until I lose consciousness and have a sugar high from eating so many s'mores. Whatever happens first.”

Helaena and Floris exchange a glance that she doesn't overlook. “But you haven't wanted to go home since your birthday.”

“Oh, there are just too many ghosts,” she quickly lies. “You know, with my mother's death and all.”

Her father remarrying didn't really affect Annika. Or at least, she never let it show much. Helaena and Floris know when she uses her mother's death as an excuse and to take advantage of people; she always did, and she always will. No one questions a girl's grief for her mother. Annika knows it well.

And they know it's her way of dealing with the situation, even though she doesn't talk about it. So, they let her be. Whatever it is, she'll say it in her own time.

“If you say so...”

“This will be something good,” Annika repeats. “A girls' Christmas. Just us three. No families, no responsibilities, no men. Just us.”

* 🧣⋆.ೃ࿔*:･⍣ ೋ *ੈ🎄‧₊˚ . *ੈ✩‧₊˚ ೃ࿐🌟

Willa wrinkles her nose, watching as Daeron struggles to close the door of the huge truck, bags strategically positioned as if it were a game of Tetris.

“I can't believe you convinced me to do this,” she says, a grimace of both distress and regret forming on her face. “I mean, are you sure no one from your family will notice you're not at the boarding school?”

He laughs. “My mother has three more children, and my father has even more children and grandchildren to fill that void. Trust me when I tell you they won't notice that I'm gone. We'll show up for New Year's Eve, I'll introduce you to them, and they won't even remember that we didn't spend Christmas with them.”

“I don't like that plan,” she admits. Daeron finally manages to close the truck after much effort and lets out a grunt. He shakes his hands, then gives Willa a kiss on the forehead.

“Believe me, you'll be more than glad to miss Mr. Lannister's Christmas party. They're basically the land where time stands still, and a vortex opens up and sucks out all your energy,” he explains. “I had the best Christmas of my life last year with your family than any Christmas I've had before.”

She squirms uncomfortably. “Sometimes you make me think you hate your family, Daeron. And I get it, but you can't... I'm sure they love you a lot.”

“I know they do. But, as I told you, Christmas is not really important, and I want to spend it with you. I want us to have a good time before I take you to my family on New Year's and you run in the other direction.”

“If we survived that weekend at your older brother's apartment...”

Daeron shudders as if just the thought of it produces secondhand embarrassment. “Don't remind me. I don't know how to apologize for that. The good news is you won't have to see him again, ever.”

He opens the door for Willa to get in and doesn't wait for a response as he goes around the truck to get into the passenger seat, leaving her with the words on her lips.

“If it helps, I didn't dislike your brother,” she says. “Is he not spending New Year's at your house with all of us?”

“I don't think so. The last time I was home, he was acting too strange. I mean, stranger than usual,” he explains, eyes fixed on the road.

“When was it? Spring?”

“I think so. Yes, yes. I remember because my mother was furious with him for not showing up to Floris's birthday dinner, you know, my brother Aemond's girlfriend. He didn't even go to the party afterward, and he never misses a party.”

“Did he say why?”

“No, he didn't really say anything. I asked Helaena, and she told me Aegon had been in New York a few weeks before but never dropped by to visit her. Aemond thinks he's doing drugs,” he says calmly, then opens his eyes when Willa looks at him horrified. “Oh, no, he's not a drug addict. He’s just the occasionally drunk, harmless brother. His life is not in danger. Aegon has always been like this. He'll be back when he gets over it.”

She scratches her neck, uncomfortable. “The holidays can be triggers for many people, you know?”

“I'm sure Aegon is at a resort in Miami Beach, passed out with a piña colada in his hand and some girl tangled in his sheets as we speak. He's living his best life,” he downplays. “You'll see. Everything will be fine. Plus, we'll get to enjoy some time alone. Don't you like the idea?”

Willa sighs, resigned.

“If I had a family as big as yours...”

“You are my family now,” he finally drops, like a bucket of ice-cold water running down her back and leaving her breathless for a moment. “It's just you and me. And I prefer it very much this way.”

* 🧣⋆.ೃ࿔*:･⍣ ೋ *ੈ🎄‧₊˚ . *ੈ✩‧₊˚ ೃ࿐🌟

Aegon groans as he feels a boiling sensation behind his throat, and his mouth automatically fills with saliva, anticipating the vomit that he will never let out. He straightens up quickly, holding his breath to calm his body while everything spins around him.

When he finally makes sense of what's happening, he realizes he has fainted in the kitchen. He leans his back against the wooden shelf, just like when he was little and used to hide while playing with his brothers and nephews and the rest of his family.

He hears footsteps entering the kitchen, echoing on the tiles, but he doesn't bother to lift his gaze; he already knows who it is.

“I didn't expect you to be up so early.”

“Brother,” Aegon grumbles again, getting up from the floor with so much difficulty that sometimes it seems like his youth is just a memory. He looks around confused. “Where’s Melody?”

“You mean Mallory,” he corrects. “Well, she came home with you. I think you guys did it on the couch and the kitchen floor. And she left early.”

Aegon smiles, the memories of the previous night a bit clearer. “Oh, right. And her friend? What was her name? God, I don't think we should go back to that place ever again. Although I don't think they'll let us in.”

“She slept in my bed and left with Mallory early in the morning. I called someone to clean up this mess you left, mess you cannot make again because it’s fucking December 23th and no one will ever come to clean your shit up on Christmas. Now, we have to go to the city, so I suggest you change and dress decently.”

Aegon cracks all the joints in his body without understanding his younger brother's bad mood. He has done everything to get him through his breakup; he took him to the best clubs all over Europe, to Las Vegas, and even agreed to accompany him to an independent film Aemond wanted to watch, consuming large amounts of Adderall to stay awake out of boredom.

No one knows what happened between Floris and Aemond. They were a strange but simple pair; both middle children, introverted, and constantly trying to overachieve. The pride of their families, with a perfect life. Their love was born in the sandbox when they were both children, all the way through high school and what they've made of college, and everyone thought they would continue like that, getting married and having children. After all sandbox love never really dies.

Apparently, everyone was wrong.

In other circumstances, Aegon would have simply called Helaena and asked if she knew exactly what happened; what was so terrible that had Aemond so tense and more unbearably suffocating than usual, but...

“Why do we have to go downtown?” Aegon asks as Aemond hurries to make coffee. The sound of the machine drills into his head; he’s pretty sure his hangover has hangover at this point.

“Because, Aegon, your little girlfriend stole Mom's crystal reindeer,” he mutters with annoyance. “I can't believe you brought me here to fuck any girl stupid enough to fall for your charms and brought her back home completely unconscious. What if I hadn't been here?”

“I think I can take care of myself, Aemond. I've been alive for twenty-four years without your help,” the older one mutters with annoyance. “I brought you here so you could fuck any girl in a miniskirt and forget about your ex-girlfriend. But you're not taking advantage of it.”

Aemond clenches his hands into fists, his knuckles slightly white. “I don't need to fuck anyone to forget about her.”

“What you need is to skip Jason Lannister's insipid party and not go home where the primary topic of conversation will be your relationship with Miss Baratheon’s wake. Believe me, I'm doing you a favour. I've been in your place.”

Aemond laughs. “When have you ever had a meaningful relationship with someone?”

“I don't mean that. I mean I've been a victim of the scrutiny of London's elite.”

“Well, you brought it on yourself after getting drunk and getting into a fight with Dalton Greyjoy at Helaena's debutante ball,” his brother reminds him.

Aegon sighs; it's pointless to explain why he got into a fight with Greyjoy at Helaena's debutante ball. He just learned to live with the label of an alcoholic and violent person and made it his own so that they couldn't hurt him with it.

Oh, and he destroyed any political/professional ties between the Greyjoys and the Targaryens. But that's not exactly a tale fit for Christmas.

“Is Helaena going to the party?” he asks, changing the subject as he opens a beer can under the disapproving gaze of his younger brother. “You have only one eye, and it feels like you have six. Can you relax a bit? I'm on vacation.”

“Your life is a vacation,” Aemond hisses bitterly. “I really don't believe it. She said she planned to stay in New York with Floris and Annika.”

“Is Annika not going to her father's party?”

Aemond shrugs, sipping his coffee. “We didn't go into that much detail; she just said they would stay in New York. She says Floris likes it there, so...”

Aegon smirks maliciously. “I bet Annika is taking her to every possible club to get her fucked and forget about you.”

“Do you have to be so unpleasant all the damn time?” Aemond questions. “She wouldn't do that. Unlike you, Annika knows her and knows she needs other things.”

“Hey, I accompanied you to that horrible movie and saved you from the funeral-party. We'll spend Christmas in a hot tub drinking and eating with some chicks. What more do you want from me?”

Aemond frowns, the last good eye though a bit less harsh, always alert and in disagreement with his words. However, Aegon knows that beneath all that calm and collected facade, he is suffering.

And he doesn't like to see his brother suffer unless he is the one causing it.

“Nothing, Aegon. I don't want anything from you, nor do I expect it,” he replies with annoyance, leaving his empty cup in the sink. “Get dressed. We leave in ten minutes. And you'll pay for those expensive shitty reindeer.”

“Fair enough.”

* 🧣⋆.ೃ࿔*:･⍣ ೋ *ੈ🎄‧₊˚ . *ੈ✩‧₊˚ ೃ࿐🌟

The cold air hits Annika's face, and tosses her golden curls around. She brushes the hair stuck to her lip gloss off her face with annoyance, and her body shivers under all the layers of winter clothing. Her frozen hands tremble as she locks the car door.

“I won't drive in this weather ever again,” she mutters under her breath, striding towards the house porch with long steps, trying not to slip on the ice-covered stones. Helaena and Floris laugh at her from the door. “What?”

“That footwear is a bit impractical, don't you think?” Helaena remarks teasingly.

She looks at her boots without understanding. “They're my Moschino Black Faux Fur Snow Boots.”

“They have fur,” Helaena points out, amused.

“No animals were harmed in the making of these boots,” she retorts, struggling up the stairs. “Stop criticizing me for actually having style and open the door for me, will you? My ass is freezing.”

“Perhaps don't wear those boots outside again. You're going to slip,” Floris recommends, catching Annika's arm to help her with the last steps while Helaena finishes opening the door.

When they enter the cabin, they head straight to Helaena's enormous bedroom amid laughter. The cabin is huge but cozy, with a room for each family member. Floris tries to ignore the fact that she knows by heart the door to Aemond's room and everything inside.

Annika gets rid of her clothes and turns on the heating, trying to warm up. “Does anyone remember how to make hot chocolate?”

“You have the recipe book in the kitchen,” Floris reminds her.

Annika frowns. “Who am I kidding? I don't do kitchen. But we should buy Christmas cookies...”

“You mean, make Christmas cookies?” Helaena raises an eyebrow.

“No, thanks. I just redid my nails. But we could get gingerbread houses to decorate!” She offers hopefully. “But first, I need to shower and change. And before you say anything; I can't feel my toes.”

Hel sighs. “Perhaps Floris and I should go shopping while you shower.”

“Well, I don't do groceries either,” Annika winks at them. “Could you buy me a few things? I'll text them to you. You go while I bathe, and then I'll prepare dinner. Which means, order something to be delivered here and get the wine from the cellar.”

Floris rolls her eyes, not even having taken off her coat. “You better have three glasses of wine waiting for us when we get back to watch a movie.”

Annika snaps her fingers. “Done!” She says, then takes off her fur hat and puts it on Floris. “There you go. So your ideas won't freeze.”

“We'll be back in fifty minutes,” Helaena announces, taking the car keys from Annika's stiff and gloved hands.

As soon as she's alone, Annika rummages through one of her suitcases for her shower things and crosses to the main bathroom, in front of Helaena's room. Unfortunately, her friend's bedroom is not ensuite, and they have endured countless escapes where they had to cross to the bathroom in the middle of the night and lose all glamour by running into one of Helaena's brothers or nephews.

Annika has always loved coming to the Aspen cabin. It has always been a place very different from her home where time seems to run in a different way. Almost magical, though she knows better now to understand magic doesn’t exist. Since she was a child, Helaena and her family often felt more like a family than her own. It was strange because even though Helaena adored her brothers, Annika knew she felt like an outsider. Very alien to them.

In one way or another, the three of them always found a home in themselves. Where they could be without prejudices or fear.

She turns on the shower, letting the water flow hot, even boiling, as she removes her clothes and hangs her pink robe on the nearest hook. She is careful to lift her long and shiny hair to avoid getting it wet and preserve her meticulously done blowout. Her hair has always been one of her best features and is almost sacred to her; curls that fall like a cascade of liquid gold to her waist.

Her muscles contract as her body comes into contact with the hot water, and she sighs relieved. She stays almost inert for a while before taking her shower lotion and starting to wash to remove any remnants of the plane and the trip and New York off her.

And she has a lot to clean. A life of mistakes, an entire year of failure and sins and feelings kept deep in her heart.

But there are still eight days left for her to leave it all behind finally. Eight days for the year to end, and therefore, a new life to begin. A new life where she doesn't make mistakes or hurt anyone and is her best version. Where she is a better person and accompanies Helaena and Floris to do the groceries and learns to make Christmas dinner or hot chocolate.

But she still has eight more days to be the acidic and superficial Annika who runs away from her problems instead of facing them.

When she finishes washing her face, she reaches out for one of the towels before jumping into her robe. At that moment, the door opens abruptly, and the steam that fills the bathroom disperses into the air, letting in a cold draft from the hallway.

She glimpses, through the steam, a platinum blonde mane.

“Hel, come in. Did you return so quickly? I must have lost track of time. Did you bring the things I asked for?”

But Helaena doesn't respond. Annika wraps the small towel around her body and opens the shower door, stepping out.

“Wow, my Christmas wish came true already,” the mischievous and familiar laughter takes her completely by surprise.

Annika screams, disturbed when through the steam, she makes sense of Aegon's figure, Hel's older brother. The unbearable older brother, to be precise. Among other things.

She moves so far back that she slips. Aegon has to hold her arm so that she doesn't fall and hit her head on the edge of the bathtub. When she is stable enough, she pushes him to let go of her bare and wet arms, a bit disturbed by the vulnerable situation, but Aegon holds her so tightly that this time he slips backward and takes her with him.

“You're an idiot!” She yells, holding onto the towel that is the only thing separating her naked body from him.

Aegon laughs painfully. “Wow, my second Christmas wish just came true.”

“What are you doing here?!” Annika demands, too disturbed, while trying to find a way to get off him without pressing any unwanted parts of her body. He looks at her, his blue eyes against her green ones, and smiles.

“I could ask you the same. This is my house.”

When she finally manages to stand up, and the steam has dispersed a bit, she notices that Aemond is standing in the doorway with his arms crossed and a slightly disturbed look. When he notices the blush on Annika's cheeks, he turns away to give her privacy.

“We almost called the police,” Aemond tells her. “What are you doing here?”

“I told you an intruder wasn't going to shower. And I'm sure no intruder would wear those ridiculous fur boots...”

“Would you mind?” Annika says to Aegon, holding the towel against her chest as if her life depends on it while grabbing her robe with the other hand.

“Go ahead, darling.”

“Aegon,” Aemond warns. He grumbles and turns around as Annika puts on the robe without even removing the towel and ties the belt with a knot worthy of the navy.

“Nice knot. Did Greyjoy teach you to do that?” Aegon mocks when he turns to look at her again. She gives him the middle finger. “Would you mind explaining what you're doing here?”

“I came with Helaena and Floris to spend Christmas. What are you doing here?”

“It seems great minds think alike,” Aegon snorts. “A heads-up would have been nice, by the way. What if we were with girls here?”

“You could have warned yourself, too,” she tells him. “And it wouldn't be the first time we find you in a deplorable situation that you dragged Aemond into.”

“You can't stay here,” Aemond takes care of dissipating the heated atmosphere between his brother and the girl. She laughs sarcastically.

“Don't worry, your sister and your ex-girlfriend are shopping and will be back any moment. I'll be waiting for them outside with our luggage; I'll book a hotel.”

She doesn't wait for an answer, passes by Aemond without acknowledging him, and crosses to Helaena's room. Aemond rubs his temples, disturbed and stressed.

“This wasn't part of the plan,” Aegon informs, in case Aemond thought he had orchestrated the encounter intentionally. “You didn't know Helaena was coming?”

“No. She said she was staying in New York. Why would she lie?” Aemond questions.

“Technically, we lied too. But who knows with Helaena...”

“You never lie to Helaena. And she never lies to you. What's going on?” Aemond crosses his arms. “She said you haven't visited her lately. Not even the last time you were in New York.”

“What? Are you a detective now?” Aegon crosses his arms, hurrying to leave the bathroom and go down the stairs to the front door when he hears it open. Aemond follows him, but Aegon stops halfway. “Listen, if you don't want to see Floris, that's fine. I'll deal with them. Lock yourself in your room to cry or whatever you do. I understand...”

Aemond actually considers it but shakes his head. “It's okay.”

Aegon pats his shoulder. Annika comes out already dressed, with perfect hair, and ignores the presence of the brothers to join her friends while holding the phone between her cheek and shoulder, trying to get a hotel reservation. The brothers follow her down, and when they reach the first floor, in the entrance, it's not precisely their friends who are there.

It's Daeron, engaging in... something akin to making out with a girl with intense red hair who hasn't even let go of her bags yet. Both are dripping melted snow, wetting the wooden floor, deeply lost in each other, not caring much. Annika stays still at the foot of the stairs and reaches back to hit Aegon's chest, who looks at them proudly. Aemond crosses his arms while the only girl puts her hand to her mouth.

Aegon claps once. “What a show.”

Daeron and the girl separate as quickly as a spit for a pardon, even more disturbed than Annika was when found in the shower. Aegon looks at Annika and Aemond and laughs. “It will never get old.”

“What are you guys doing here?” The young boy despairs, while the girl hides behind him. Daeron tilts his head at the bizarre situation. “Oh, my God. Please tell me you weren't-“

“Have you gone crazy?” Aemond interrupts. It's been a while since Annika has seen Daeron, and the last time, the boy was at her height. He has grown between a much taller man than Aegon, almost reaching Aemond's height. “Why aren't you at boarding school?”

“It's winter break?” He doubts his answer. “I thought all of you would be either in New York or London for your father's party, Annika. Nice to see you again, by the way.”

“See? That's what you'd expect from my best friend's brothers,” she snorts, approaching him to give him a kiss on the cheek. “How you've grown! And who is this?”

“She yells at us, and he’s the one who gets the kisses,” Aegon complains.

“You never drew me a picture of us while I babysat you,” Annika tells him plainly, while Daeron puts an arm around her shoulders affectionately.

“That's because I was the one taking care of you, brat.”

“This is Willa. She is my girlfriend,” Daeron introduces Willa to Annika. Willa smiles shyly, while Annika grins from ear to ear and shakes her hand warmly. “Willa, this is Annika. An old family friend.”

“Hi, I've heard a lot about you,” Willa says, trying to sound convincingly extroverted despite the humiliation she has suffered. Annika looks at her puzzled and amused at the same time. “He was very much in love with you.”

“I know. It was adorable to see him scare off the boys in my grade with his Spider-Man pajamas on one occasion,” she laughs. “It's a pleasure, Willa. So, I guess the four of you had the same idea. How convenient.”

“Didn’t you guys come together?” Daeron asks, puzzled.

“Of course not. I came with Hel and Flo. They were here, but they didn't have the decency to warn any of us before coming to make a bachelor nest at your parents's family house.”

Aegon rolls his eyes. “And we were having some amazing days until you came to disrupt our peace.”

“Don't worry. I'll leave as soon as I can get a hotel. Daeron? Should I look for something for you and Willa? I think you two had more interesting plans than to spend Christmas with those two,” Annika asks, with the sound of keys on the cell phone she activated just to annoy Aegon. He squints at the sound and groans.

“Yes... I mean, no! This is my house, and I have the right to use it too,” Daeron stands firm.

“Does mom and dad know you're here?” Aegon asks, and the younger one sighs.

“They don't know you're here either,” Annika reminds him.

“Oh, come on. Whose side are you on?”

“Whichever is not yours. We’re leaving because I know none of us wants to spend time with you, but if Daeron wants to stay, you can't just kick him out because you feel like it. And let's be honest... Aemond, are you even having fun?”

Aemond opens his mouth to speak, but his brother interrupts him. “You're a sellout.”

“Sorry, but they're right. I can't stand you for one more day alone. I'll go back home, and I prefer the funeral-party of my relationship than seeing you hook up with a random blonde and calling to clean your vomit from the carpet.”

The front door opens, letting in another freezing gust of wind. “We're...!”

Floris falls silent when they see the scene, just like Helaena, who blinks several times and points at each one as if counting them one by one. “What are you guys doing here?” Helaena asks.

Aegon throws his hands in the air. “I can't do this again. It's not funny if you're not in a compromising situation. Do you have something interesting in those bags? Dildos?”

“Who is that?” Floris whispers to Annika, pointing at the redhead girl, ignoring the fact that Aemond can't take his eyes off her. “What are they doing here?”

Helaena smiles. “You must be Willa! I'm so glad to finally meet you!”

“You knew Daeron had a girlfriend and didn't say anything?” Aemond asks, dismayed. Helaena shrugs after wrapping the girl in a hug; it wasn't her story to tell. “What else haven't you told us?”

“I knew. We spent an entire week together. I’m sure she remembers,” Aegon teases her. “Hi, Willa.”

“Hi… Good to see you again.”

“Oh, don’t lie to him,” says Daeron.

Then, someone knocks on the door. Aegon, who has moved to sit on the steps, lets out a grunt. “If that's Mom and Dad planning a romantic Christmas getaway and coming to install a sex swing, I'm going to shoot them and then shoot myself in the balls.”

Annika scrunches her nose. “Do you have to be so gross all the time?”

“Do you really want me to answer that?” He smirks.

Helaena opens the door a little curiously. “Hello?”

“Hey. You’re Helaena, right?" Asks a brown-haired guy, dressed in a plaid shirt and a black jacket. “I'm Logan. I live in the house next door, remember?”

“The house next door, as in the house that's three kilometers away?” Aemond grumbles.

“Yes, of course, I remember you. How are you? Want to come in?”

Aegon puts his hands to his face and pretends to cry.

“Sure... Sorry to interrupt, but the power has gone out in my house. Is it okay if I stay here for a few hours?” Logan asks. “I know we don't know each other, and I'd go to a café, but it's already dark outside, and they're announcing snowstorms for tomorrow and the day after. It's a bit dangerous to take the road. I might not be able to come back.”

“They just took the road, and they're safe,” Aegon says. “Hey, maybe you can go to the hotel they'll all go to. Maybe all of you can rent the same room and have a Christmas party.”

Logan laughs. “A hotel? On December 23th, with a snowstorm at the door and no previous reservation? Good luck finding something.”

Annika stops dialing numbers and looks a bit irritated at Helaena. “You didn't check the weather before coming, did you?”

“Well, I didn't feel like there was going to be a snowstorm,” she says, a little uncomfortable.

“I see you're having... a family situation here. Maybe I should go,” Logan says this time.

“Wait. Are you from around?” Annika asks.

“Don't talk to her or look her directly in the eyes; she��ll turn you into stone like she's Medusa,” Aegon warns.

Logan ignores him. “Yes, I live here. My family was supposed to come for a visit, but they were arriving tomorrow, and flights have been canceled or rescheduled.”

“Sorry to hear that. And is there no other place we can stay? They don't rent anything either?” Floris asks this time.

“I could try to get you something with a friend, but I don't think so. And anyway, as I told you, going out right now to look for something can be dangerous. If you have the possibility of spending the night here, I suggest you do it,” Logan says.

Aemond looks at Aegon. “Well, I guess our escapade is officially over, thank God. Of course, everyone can stay. We have the space...”

“It was supposed to be just us,” Aegon complains and walks to the door. “Look, it's not even that bad outside.”

He opens the door, and a freezing wind makes a bunch of leaves and sticks enter the house, then slams the door shut. He grits his teeth.

“Just for one night,” Daeron finally gives in and looks at Willa. “At least until tomorrow when things calm down, and we can look for somewhere to stay. We wouldn't even have to see each other's faces.”

“Daeron, it's fine. I don't mind spending time with your family,” she smiles, so delighted with the idea that Floris finds it a bit funny she wants to be part of the messed up gang.

“Yes, Daeron. As if we were going to tell about the time you got lost in the woods, and we found you bathed in cow shit,” Aegon laughs, but no one laughs with him.

“That was you,” Helaena reminds him. “Two years ago.”

“Oh. And what about the time he tried to ride a bike on a beam and fell into a cactus?”

“Again, that was you,” Aemond says this time. “You were drunk as a skunk and insisted on doing it even though everyone told you not to.”

“We pulled thorns out of your ass for three days,” Annika recalls tiredly, then smiles at him. “You've always been a classy boy.”

Aegon looks at her with crossed arms. “At least I didn't ruin my father's wedding with a tantrum.”

“At least I didn't ruin an entire debutante ball,” she mutters back.

“Still on that? It's been years, woman!”

“I have the right to be mad...!”

“Okay, let's not go there,” Aemond warns, placing his hands on Annika's shoulders. Willa hugs Daeron's arm, confused. “We have to endure each other for just one night. Let's not start fighting. We all had fun together before.”

“He's right. You shouldn't fight, even Aemond is trying to get us to have fun,” Helaena suggests, and everyone bursts into laughter. Logan and Willa, more out of obligation than anything else. “I have an idea.”

“Should we get into the hot tub while we drink?” Aegon says, hopeful.

“Are you insane? It's only six in the evening. What are you, a savage?” Floris questions. He opens his mouth to reply, and she shakes her head. “Please, don't answer that.”

“I was going to suggest that we try to cook something. Like... a dinner. And we should all chip in.”

Everyone looks at Annika, who opens her mouth surprised. “Why are you all looking at me? Aegon blew up the microwave making sausages.”

“Yes, because you told me to wrap them in aluminum foil,” he crosses his arms.

Daeron looks at them puzzled. “I thought Aegon was alone when his microwave exploded. Alone and drunk.”

“I told him via text,” she quickly adds. Aegon snorts. “And as a joke.”

"That joke cost me a new kitchen.”

“Well, most of us know not to put metals in the microwave. So, we can make dinner without any problem.”

Annika crosses her arms. “Well… I want an apron.”

* 🧣⋆.ೃ࿔*:･⍣ ೋ *ੈ🎄‧₊˚ . *ੈ✩‧₊˚ ೃ࿐🌟

“Logan! Be more careful. This is cashmere!”Annika yells; she's wearing gloves, a chef's hat, and an apron she found in the utility room. No one exactly knows how, considering she hasn't touched anything, but her apron is stained as if she had worked for hours in a fast food factory.

After trying for a while to get her to chop an onion, they gave up, deciding that Annika would slow them down more than help. Aemond and Aegon hadn't been the epitome of efficiency either, so it boiled down to Hel, Floris, Willa, Logan, and Daeron. But they let Annika decorate the cookies while Aegon tried to steal the dough mix.

Logan makes the girls laugh enthusiastically, even Daeron at times.

“I don't like him” Aegon tells Aemond, drinking what's left of his beer. “How do we know he's not a serial killer? Showed up at our door out of nowhere.”

Aemond rolls his singular eye. “Yes. He looks ruthless helping Hel and Annika put sprinkles on the gingerbread man cookies.”

“It could be poison,” he argues, watching as Logan puts icing on Annika's nose, and everyone laughs. “It's not even funny.”

"They seem to think it's hilarious," Aemond replies disinterestedly, while meticulously setting up his glass chess set. “Do you want to play?”

“Can we play strip chess?”

“No.”

“Then, no. But maybe Floris wants to play,” Aegon points to the girl sitting on the kitchen counter, surprisingly quiet amidst the symphony of laughter around her. “Are you going to tell me what happened between you two?”

“Of course. When you tell me why you've been staring at Annika incessantly since she arrived.”

Aegon sighs and settles into the couch. “You know I've always been protective of her. Same with Helaena and Floris. Mother always encouraged me to do it.”

“Well, you seem more jealous than anything, and I don't see you very concerned that your presumed serial killer is clearly interested in our sister,” Aemond points out. Aegon looks at them and furrows his brow.

“Of course not. It's Helaena. She wouldn't...”

“She wouldn't what?”

“Ugh. That’s disgusting,” he mutters at the thought of his younger sister in a relationship.

“Guys, look,” Helaena approaches them as if they summoned her. She holds a tray freshly taken from the oven. “We made us, cookie version!”

Aegon furrows his brow and points at a gingerbread man with a questionable appearance. “What happened to this one?”

“That's you,” she says with a smile. Aemond bites his inner cheek to stifle a laugh. “Annika said she had technical difficulties.”

“It looks like a voodoo doll,” Aemond remarks. “I'd be careful.”

Aegon grumbles and gets up from his seat. He heads to the kitchen annoyed, where Annika is trying to scrape dough off the marble countertop along with Willa and Logan. “Want to smoke a cigarette?”

She looks at him, bewildered. “I'm busy.”

“I'm sure they can finish without you,” he tells her, taking her wrist to drag her to the backyard. She removes the apron, puts on a coat, and her Moschino boots, earning a disgusted look from Aegon, the cigarette hanging between his lips. “Those are the ugliest boots I've ever seen in my life.”

“Well, I have to endure your face on Christmas...”

“Cut the bullshit,” he says, lighting his cigarette and offering Annika fire to light hers. “You've been avoiding me. And now you're more passive-aggressive than usual. People’s starting to notice.”

“I've been avoiding you because you've been avoiding me,” she reminds him, her tone suddenly turning acidic. Aegon knows it well. It's because he's gotten under her skin. “You didn't return my calls, and obviously, I stopped trying. The message was more than clear.”

“Please, it was a relief for you that I didn't return your calls. It's exactly what you wanted,” Aegon points out. “You haven't set foot in your house since spring. Did you not want to run into me?”

“You didn't go to Floris's birthday to avoid running into me. You didn't visit Helaena to avoid running into me. You couldn't even return her calls because you couldn't face her and lie to her face.”

He opens his mouth, but chooses his words carefully. “I guess we've both been avoiding each other, then.”

“Maybe it's for the best, you know?” She shrugs. “Lying became exhausting. I was tired of pretending I was somewhere when I was actually with you. We can't do that.”

“It was good,” Aegon admits.

“Just not good enough for you to want to stop lying to everyone about it,” she deduces, pursing her lips into a thin line as she exhales smoke through her nose. “I understand.”

“I don't think you do,” he says, rubbing his eye with the back of his hand, noticeably uncomfortable. “The problem wasn't that you weren't good enough, quite the opposite. The problem is, you're my little sister's best friend. I've known you forever. It's...”

“If you tell me I'm like your little sister, I'm going to kick you,” she warns. Aegon shakes his head, amused.

“I can't do that to Helaena. I've ruined many things for her and my brothers. I don't want to ruin one of the best things she has. We wouldn't have worked, you and I. You belong with her, not with me.”

Annika nods. “Okay.”

“So, are we good? At least because we're stuck here on Christmas?” He asks, hoping that's the case. But he knows with Annika, things are never that simple. “We can call it a truce.”

“Sure,” she smiles and puts out her cigarette on the floor. Aegon wants to say something else, because he knows he’s hurting her…

But he doesn’t reach for her.

* 🧣⋆.ೃ࿔*:･⍣ ೋ *ੈ🎄‧₊˚ . *ੈ✩‧₊˚ ೃ࿐🌟

Willa bites her lip while rummaging through her suitcase. Daeron's room is impeccably clean, and she finds it amusing that he has a solar system décor clearly chosen when he was a child.

“I don't even remember the order of the planets nowadays,” he says to excuse his questionable interior decorating decision.

“Daeron. Can I ask you something?” She says, a bit curious. Her boyfriend settles on the bed with his arms behind his head and nods. “Aegon and Annika...?”

“Ugh. I don't even want to start talking about them,” he sighs as if the topic bores him.

“What did they mean by what they said about the debutante ball-“

“Oh, no. No,” the room's door opens, and Floris walks in unannounced. “We really don't talk about August 15, 2017. It's more like strictly forbidden.”

“Jesus Christ! Can I help you with something?” Daeron asks. “You should’ve knocked first.”

“Hide me until Aemond gets bored of playing chess and invites me to play.”

Daeron rolls his eyes and pats the side of his bed, inviting the girl to sit.

“I'm sorry for interrupting and eavesdropping. Just came to pretend I'm busy.”

“That's okay,” he says. “Willa wanted to know what happened at the debutante ball. If you want the full backstory, we have the right person here.”

“We shouldn't talk about it,” Floris reminds him.

“She's been my girlfriend for a long time. And she's staying much longer... Or not if my family scares her away by barging in unannounced.”

Floris sighs. “You're manipulative. If she's going to stay, then she has to know. And she has to know to never, ever speak on the subject. And no one can know that you know, understand?” Willa nods and sits on the bed with her legs crossed, ready to hear the story.

“You have to swear never to speak of it. If you do, you'll have to turn your firstborn to the devil, and your lineage will be cursed for generations,” Daeron jokes, stretching his leg slightly to playfully hit her. “Think of our children.”

“You two are disgustingly adorable,” Floris laughs, then turns serious as she starts telling the story. “So, it's 2017. Helaena, Annika, and I are, what? Sixteen, seventeen, and we're going to be presented in society. We had months of preparation; wardrobe, our escort, everything had to be perfect. Now that you've seen what Annika's like, I'm sure you can understand the level of detail she put into her preparations. Two years before... Her mother had passed away. It was tough for her, and for Alicent too since they were very close friends.”

“Oh, I didn't know that.”

“Yeah. The thing is, Alicent and Freya, Annika's mother, always wanted Aegon to be Annika's escort for her debutante ball. It was a perfect idea, the first male heir of the Targaryen family and the first daughter of the Lannister family. We all assumed it would be that way... Until two months before the ball, Aegon said he wasn't going to do it. Without any explanation. He was in college, so there really was no way to force him. He showed up on the day of the ball, drunk, and at the end of the dance, for no apparent reason, he attacked Dalton Greyjoy, Annika's escort. It was a disaster. They tried to separate them, but they beat each other up. They knocked down a sculpture, broke a table, and ruined the dress of Annika's mother. Aegon's family paid for all the damages, but since then, they don't take him to any social events.”

Willa looks like she's turned pale. “It's... Wow.”

“Annika and Aegon have hated each other since then. I mean, they always had a strange relationship, but it got worse after that, rightfully so. They keep the peace for Helaena's sake more than anything, and I think after so much time, they've learned to forgive each other,” Daeron says. “I wouldn't even bother trying to understand them.”

Willa nods. “I understand. I... I would never have imagined something like that. They have a strange energy, but I never would've thought they got along badly.”

“Hey!” Annika suddenly opens the door, making everyone startle. She smiles, mischievous. “What are you talking about?”

“School,” Daeron says simply.

“Relationships,” Floris replies at the same time.

Annika frowns.

“Relationships and school,” Willa clarifies.

“Okay... I came to invite you to play. We don't have a board game for this many people, but we thought it would be fun to play something more... Dynamic.”

Daeron straightens up to sit on the bed. “Like what?”

“Never Have I Ever,” Annika says, a sly smile on her face.

#Christmas au #aegon ii targaryen #helaena targaryen #aemond targaryen #daeron targaryen #targtowers #hotd modern au #team green #team green modern au #im never gonna love again #fanfic #aegon targaryen fanfic #aegon targaryen smut #annika lannister #asoiaf #hotd #got #aegon targaryen fic #aemond x oc

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welldonebeca · 6 days ago

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Aegon, the Unwilling (2)

Summary: A month before his semester starts, Aegon moves to Valyria and has to spend the time with his sister and uncle and their family. Gods, it’s going to be a nightmare! (Actually… is it just him or they are kind of nice?) Warnings: Modern AU (Set in Mid 2022). Tension. Eventual fluff.

Chapter 10 now on AO3.

Rhaenyra’s car was very much not a surprise when Aegon walked to put his luggage inside. It was a very, very motherly car.

Aegon didn’t even know what a motherly car was supposed to be, but it was one.

It was round, with a big boot, and it just felt made to be occupied by children.

When he took the back seat, there were screens behind four of the seats and… books. A lot of kid books.

He took one.

Lots of pictures.

Was that for Eggy?

He tapped onto the screen, another screen by his sister’s side lit up.

“You want to watch something?” his sister offered. “I can unlock it for you, but it’s old content, the kids haven’t used it in a bit, they are more in a book phase.”

“They like reading?” Father asked, surprised.

“It’s fine,” Aegon mumbled, but he wasn’t sure she had even heard him.

“Yeah,” she tapped onto the screen. “Viz just liked spelling the letters he knows, which are basically the ones composing his name.”

Father chuckled, and the screen in front of Aegon unlocked into Disney Plus and a few shows. He scowled through them quietly. Phineas and Ferb, Big City Greens, a lot of princess stuff… and Bluey.

Aegon glanced at the two quietly.

Maybe he kind of liked that show.

It was nice. Fun.

He fished his pocket for his earphones, and connected to the screen before scrolling to see the episodes downloaded, and glanced back at the two.

The car started, and he put on an episode, crossing his arms and trying not to look like he was enjoying it.

Well, at least she let her kids watch good shit.

Rhaenyra drove off, and no one called his name.

The sixth episode was just done when the car stopped, and he looked to the side to realise they were in front of some gates, and when Rhaenyra drove off it was much slower.

He looked out the window.

Shit, it was a huge place.

They really put a lot of work into that place.

There were paths, he could see from the house - and it was huge, so the property was just even bigger.

Damn.

He quit the show and watched the way, putting his things back into his backpack and checking his phone.

A message from Mother.

Aegon held back a groan.

She wanted to know if they had landed. Gods, if he called her now, she wouldn’t shut up.

He just put his phone back into the bag. He could just pretend he hadn't seen it - he wasn’t connected to any Wi-Fi yet.

Rhaenyra parked up, and when he tried to open the door, it didn’t budge, and she opened the door for him from the outside.

“Sorry,” she smiled to him. “Kiddie locks.”

He nodded stiffly.

Yeah, that made sense.

She had parked near the door, and Aegon was quick to go get his things and put near it, and when she opened it, he was quickly welcomed by a fluffy white cat waiting, sitting gracefully right by it.

“Welcome home,” she spoke with a warm smile. “I suppose you remember Syrax.”

He looked at her cat, which was looking right at him.

“Yeah,” he mumbled.

Aegon had a very specific memory of Rhaenyra still living in the same house as he did. Actually, it was his only memory of a time before she got married and moved out. And it wasn’t even with his sister.

It was with that fucking cat.

He could still vividly recall the terror he felt as a toddler, crawling around the house with the looming presence of Syrax always lurking, hissing whenever he got even near Rhaenyra’s door or Rhaenyra herself.

She stared at him now, unmoved.

Aegon remembered crawling under a chair when he was still learning, and seeing her. He tried to touch her, and he got scratched right on his arm!

That little monster.

Rhaenyra ushered them inside, and he walked stiffly along, feeling Syrax still staring right at him.

Well, at least it was just one cat. The house was huge, she was glued to Rhaenyra all the time.

She took two of his suitcases as he looked around the place.

It was way better than the Red Keep, he had to say. The house actually had a flow of air and pictures, and it looked… lived in.

“You’re staying in the first floor,” she told him. “First guest room on the right, past the library.”

Aegon followed her, and she opened the door and pushed things inside.

There were four pillows on his bed. And it looked so fluffy!

“You should rest a bit,” Rhaenyra instructed him, setting his things in a corner. “Your closet is clean, you can find two changes of sheets inside, and the bathroom is fully stocked.”

He followed with his eyes as she pointed around, as if going through a mental list, and nodded along, not thinking much.

“Sheets get washed on Friday, so remember to put them down by Friday morning,” she explained. “You’re taking over Jace’s laundry day now that he is living in Westeros, so you wash your clothes on Tuesdays with Luke, but you can exchange it with one of the girls or Joffrey for a different day.”

Aegon frowned.

What?

He hadn’t even unpacked, he already had chores to do?!

“Breakfast is at 7, I can knock on your door at 6:50 if you want to be warned, but you have to ask,” she told him, shooting the information in his direction without letting him wait to think. “Lunch is at 1:15 when the kids are back from class. Dinner is at 7 too. You’re free to get anything from the pantry, but we do have special cabinets with names to each kid so no one roams through. You are getting Jace’s too, I think Daemon just put it up.”

Aegon let out a sound, still staring. At least he got a cabinet to go with the slaving away to keep the house clean.

“Do you need anything?” she asked.

Aegon blinked a couple of times, staring at her, feeling a bit unsure.

“Water?” he requested slowly.

Rhaenyra smiled.

“Of course,” she agreed. “Come, let me show you the kitchen.”

Aegon followed after her, and Father left as she guided him, and he stopped to wait for her to get a cup and fill it up.

“Thanks,” he mumbled, taking it.

Rhaenyra just smiled, going to a wall, and he watched her press a button near the door, leaning into it.

“Hey, this is muña announcing I just got home,” she announced into it.

Oh, intercom.

“I’m upstairs with your cousin Aegon now, but if you girls need anything don’t be shy, okay?” she continued, her lips curling up mischievously. “There are no rules in this house. I’m not like a regular mum. I’m a cool mum.”

She let the button go and started giggling, for some reason he couldn’t even understand, and the system rung right as she laughed at her own joke.

“Muña, stop quoting Mean Girls!” someone answered on the other side.

Rhaenyra kept giggling, and the sight of it made him relax a little bit.

Well, she didn’t look that bad. She was fine, right? Not as bad as Mother said she was.

She seemed… fine. Happy.

But he killed his smile right away.

Of course not! It was Rhaenyra!

He chugged on his water and walked back to his bedroom without saying much else, and threw himself on the bed, glad it was at least comfortable.

This was going to be a fucking long month.

"Aegon, the Unwilling"'s chapters 1 to 10 are not posted on AO3. Click here to read them all. To have early access to chapters 11 to 15 before they are posted here or on AO3, consider subscribing to my page. It's just $2 a month and I promise you won't regret it.

If you enjoy modern Targaryens, consider following my AO3 series "Keeping Up With the Targaryens".

#aegon ii targaryen #aegon ii fanfic #hotd aegon #aegon targaryen #aegon the second #targtowers #modern targaryens #modern hotd #modern targaryen #modern au #welldonebeca's Aegon the Unwilling

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dulcewrites · 2 years ago

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Do you think Aemond ( from fcc/ modern fcc) has good mental health?

he’s got good at compartmentalizing his feelings. Which in some circumstances is needed. But when much of your life is spent placating your own feelings do you don’t essentially break down, you’re not gonna be in the best space.

I don’t want it to sound like a ‘myrah fixed him!!11!!1’ situation bc getting help or growing starts with wanting it for yourself. That being said, I do think having someone outside his immediate family tell him that what he through (viserys being neglectful, and basically emotionally abuse to his family) was shitty, and he didn’t deserve that (very ‘all I wanted was for someone to say that they were sorry for what happened to me’ of him) is a watershed moment for him. I could see him finally going to therapy maybe after viserys dies or maybe before Baelor is born. I do think a fear of his is fucking his kids like viserys did them

So I would say not great mental health but he has more tools to go on a journey to get there 🫶🏽

#modern fcc asks #I think when they first meet myrah honestly chalks Aemond’s behavior up to being spoiled #but then she meets the rest of his family (Alicent viserys Rhaenyra etc) and she’s like ‘ohhhh’#tbh meeting him does a lot for myrah too #as someone who grew up pretty sheltered with parents that cared for her #she gets a dose of a different life through the targtowers

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elcoffin · 11 months ago

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modern targtowers au 🪲❤️‍🩹👁️

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hotdaemondtargaryen · 6 months ago

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NEW PHOTO OF TEAM GREEN.

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nxpthys · 4 months ago

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Aegon: Aemond... He was here. I can feel it.

Helaena: What? He hasn’t been here, has he?

Aegon Smell that?

Helaena: Smell what?

Aegon: The room... It smells like Chanel No. 5 and betrayal.

#chaotic modern setting au - green fam #house of the dragon #pro team green #aemond targaryen #aegon ii targaryen #helaena targaryen #incorrect quotes #targtowers #team green #incorrect hotd quotes

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huramuna · 11 months ago

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growing on you - oneshot.

modern aemond x (ex) girlfriend reader

content: smut (specifics under the cut), afab reader, angst, unhealthy coping mechanisms, descriptions of depression and its effect on the body, probably an unhealthy relationship, aemond being an idiot, probably ooc aemond, reader not described, no use of y/n, targtowers seek therapy: the story, fluff at the end bc hehe

work is 18+, minors do not interact or you shall be smited.

word count: 7.4k (oops)

a/n: i've had this one in the drafts for a while. tweaked to be a fun 'lil angsty end of year holiday fic. as is my motto: fuck it we ball. a/n 2: i pivoted from a third person pov fic to a second person pov fic 3/4 through writing this using the find and replace tool, so if there are grammar errors, i apologize! also my first time doing second person pov, weehee.

monsters - all time low ft. blackbear • why do i - set it off ft. hatsune miku

warnings: p in v, creampie, cockwarming, slightly tipsy sex

Everything in your life was enveloped by him. your clothes smelled like him, small strands of his hair were woven into every nook and cranny of your apartment together, his fitness regime protein powder and ketogenic supplements were littered in your kitchen cabinets.

You couldn’t get rid of him, not even if you tried. Aemond was all you'd ever known— you have known one another since the age of seven, and have been in a relationship since fourteen. You were both now twenty-six. Twelve years you’ve been together romantically (longer, even, but you were both too stubborn to admit it) and nineteen years you’ve been in each other's lives in some capacity or another.

You’ve been involved together longer than you’ve not known each other. You hardly knew who you were without Aemond— a thought that scared you deeply.

It’s been two weeks since he moved out, only temporarily he’d said. He needed space. He would still pay his share of the rent and you didn’t need to worry about that.

But what about everything else? What about him warming you at night? Comforting you when you had nightmares? What about his items in the fridge, surely you’d spoil if he didn’t use them soon. What about Vhagar? Their— no, his geriatric cat that he took with him to God knows where— she must be terrified, surely.

Was he giving Vhagar her medicine before bed? Of course he was— he was the more responsible one anyway.

You paced back and forth until the soles of your feet ached and then some. Knowing Aemond for so long, you had intimate knowledge on everything about him, you were woven into each other's DNA like vines on a trellis, growing and expanding until you swallowed all of the other plants whole.

That is what happened, wasn’t it? You grew too large, too comfortable and became stagnant. You weren't unaware of his rising workload at his firm, but he had always been a workaholic— throughout their teenage years, through college and grad school. It never slowed him down so you didn’t understand the change in behavior.

Aemond was closed off. He always was a bit emotionally stunted due to his upbringing or lack thereof from his father and everything that happened surrounding his eye, but he had a soft side for you, always for you. You could retrace every part of him perfectly from memory, always could make him laugh, could comfort him when he recused himself, and the rare times he did cry, you were there.

But the last few months there was a shift— a change in him. Where he had been hard to open before, like a rusty hinge just requiring some oil, he was now padlocked, ironclad and impenetrable. Attempts to talk were shrugged off, ignored or diverted.

“Please, just talk to me, Aemond,” you said one night as you sat on the couch. You were watching your collective favorite show and he wasn’t even commenting on it like he usually did, he was silent and deadpanned. “I don’t understand what’s wrong if you don’t talk about it.”

“There's nothing wrong, therefore, nothing to talk about. I’m just tired from work,” he responded gruffly. “Stop whining.”

His tone was clipped and harsh, sending a wave of hurt trickling through your body. you were overly emotional, where he was under emotional— usually, you balanced each other out and struck a good middle ground, but in times like these, during fights, things would get explosive.

The tears started right away, your little sniffling cries stifled by a hand over your mouth. You turned away, wrapping yourself in the blanket.

“Seriously?” he growled, “I didn’t even say anything and you’re fucking crying again.”

“I d-don’t appreciate your tone, Aemond— you’re being mean,” you sniffed, wiping away tears that were soon just replaced by new ones. “Please, don’t be mean to me.” you were always soft hearted, and it was one of the things Aemond loved about you— or he had loved at one point.

“I’m not being mean,” he pinched his brow, “you’re overreacting and I do not have the capacity to deal with your antics anymore.”

Of course, your mind hit the panic button. ‘Anymore’ meaning that he didn’t want to deal with you at all, ever. The tears increased and you recused yourself further into a ball.

“Fucking hell.” he cursed, getting up from the couch and stomping outside to the balcony, lighting up a cigarette. He was out there for about an hour— you had cried yourself to sleep.

It was many situations like that for weeks that finally just… broke him.

“I can’t do this anymore,” he said one day, slamming his keys down on the kitchen table, “I seriously cannot deal with your childish shit anymore— I’m working my ass off at the firm, actually bringing in money and I still have to come home and tend to you. you’re twenty-six, grow up and stop crying at every little thing. It’s fucking infuriating.”

“You know I can’t control that part of me!” you screamed back, your temper rising immediately to match his. The words flowing out of your mouth didn’t feel like yours, but some sort of defensive mechanism. “You can’t do this anymore? You’re not doing anything Aemond, except pushing me away. God, you haven’t even touched me in weeks.”

“Oh, so this is about sex?” he countered, getting closer to you, nostrils flaring. “You’re mad because I won’t fuck you? Are you that desperate?”

That one stung, to be sure. Aemond had been your first and only— you only ever knew him, only ever had him. “No, not just sex,” you murmured, “you haven’t even… just touched me normally. No hugs, no little caresses, nothing— it's as if I’m an aversion to you.”

He backed up from you, “Maybe we’re just too close,” he admitted, “We’ve been together too long. It's not fun anymore, it’s not new— it’s the same old, same old, going through the motions for release, not because I actually like it.”

“I don’t understand.” you said, your voice sounding disconnected from your body. The tips of your fingers felt numb, the numbness spreading through your body, your heart pounding in your chest as if it wanted to escape.

“I need space. I need to think about this.”

“This?”

“Us. I need to think about us and if this is something I really want,” he paused, “You’re… too much and not enough right now.”

“Wh— Aemond, please,” you whispered, your voice broken, “What can I do? I’ll… I’ll change, I won’t cry or whine anymore— please.”

He stared at you, his prosthetic eye unmoving while his remaining one bored into you, “I will think about it.”

“What… does this mean?”

“We are taking a break, alright? I’ll have my essentials out and I’m going to stay with Aegon.”

“Please— don’t go. I need you.”

That was the end of that conversation. That was the last time you spoke, two weeks ago. You expected him to text you at some point, to check in on you, to maybe try to talk things out.

Nothing. There's been nothing. Radio silence.

You felt isolated— you had no family, as your parents were estranged from you. you couldn’t go to Aemond’s family, as close as you were to them all, it just simply wasn’t an option.

You didn’t have friends. All you knew was Aemond.

It was early in the evening and you were in a deep pit of self-loathing. You decided to text him.

You swallowed thickly— the green meant he either turned off his phone or blocked you. You hoped that it wasn’t the latter.

The next few weeks were a blur. You felt like you were barely living, merely going through the motions to stay alive— not that you really were.

You woke up, went to work, came home, scrounged up food and then went to sleep. Rinse and repeat.

Weeks become months of your monotony, and no word from Aemond. He still had half of his stuff left in the apartment, you felt like you could barely breathe. At every turn there was something to remind you of him.

You’d lived in this apartment together for four years, the evidence of your relationship etched into the very walls. It was like the space was closing in on you and you couldn’t catch your breath, barely keeping your head above water.

You had to move out— you had to get away.

You managed to find a place, a cheap studio above a coffee shop downtown. The landlord was an old lady who was sympathetic to your situation and agreed to let you take the space quickly.

There was still the matter of your and Aemond’s current apartment— or, rather, it was just Aemond’s now.

Saving yourself the embarrassment of seeing if you were still blocked, you called Aegon. He was a better messenger than none.

“Hey, Egg,” you said, sitting on the couch. you bounced your knee up and down, biting at the skin of your lip. You and Aegon were amicable, not necessarily as close as you and Aemond, but you grew up together. Aegon ran in different social circles than you and you were somewhat polar opposites so you never really stuck— you did have your phases of friendship, though– which pissed Aemond off to no end. “Um, I don’t know if this is the right way to go about things but, do you mind relaying a message to Aemond for me?”

“Yeah, ‘spose I could. What’s up?” Aegon replied, his tone nonchalant like usual.

“I’m moving out of the apartment into my own place, so I guess he can go back. I’ll have all my stuff out by tomorrow.”

“Fuckin’ finally,” Aegon said, “He’s been driving me up the wall with his tidy, feng shui bullshit. He rearranged my whole place like five times and has taken up all the space in my cabinets with that nasty no-carb shit,” he paused for a moment, “I… didn’t mean that in a bad way to you, ‘course. I’m sorry it had to come to this. He’s a fucking idiot.”

That made you laugh, genuinely. Your first laugh in months. “Yeah– he… tends to do that. He left half of his stuff here, it feels like I’m living in the twilight zone. I just… gotta get away, you know?”

“Hey, I get that– you don’t have to explain yourself to me. He’s a dickhead and doesn’t understand how good he has it. If you want, I can bring my truck over tomorrow and help you move stuff.”

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to, Egg.”

“I want to– please.”

Your brow furrowed– Aegon usually wasn’t so persistent on anything unless it involved drinking or drugs. But, you hadn’t had real human contact in eons besides at work so… maybe it could be good.

“Okay, see you tomorrow. Thank you, really.”

–

It was rainy the next day– nasty and wet, droplets pouring down like tears. It felt somewhat familiar.

But, Aegon showed up like he promised, rolling up in his old, fading yellow pick-up truck. His hair was much shorter than you remembered and he looked actually well kept– Aemond must’ve been whipping him into shape.

He waved and ran through the rain, standing under the eave, “So– it’s raining.”

You snorted, “I think I can see that,” you teased with a tiny smile, “Not sure when it’ll let up.”

“I brought uh…” he paused for a moment to think, stretching out his arms in a square shape, “Y’know?”

“A tarp?”

“Yup– that,” he gave a lopsided grin, inviting himself in through the open door, “you aren’t going to kick me out if I don’t take off my shoes, right?”

You glanced down at his boots– they were a bit muddy and definitely wet. Aemond wouldn’t have let him step two feet through the threshold without taking them off. But– you weren't Aemond. “No, keep them on if you want. It’s not my problem if you track dirt through the place anyway.”

He nodded, taking his phone out of his pocket for a moment and shooting a quick message to someone. “Sorry I haven’t been around, it’s just… he’s my brother. It would be kind of… I dunno, crossing some sort of unsaid boundary if I visited his… girlfriend?”

“Ex-girlfriend. I guess,” you corrected softly– but you didn’t really know yourself what it was. He wouldn’t talk to you, “It’s fine. I didn’t expect anyone to really reach out anyway, because of that… unsaid boundary thing.”

“We should’ve. you’re a part of our family with or without Aemond. Me, Helaena and Daeron have a whole group chat about it. Even mom asked where you’ve been,” he scratched the back of his head absentmindedly as he sent out another text, “Someone should’ve checked up sooner.”

“You’re acting like I’m some sort of neglected puppy, Aegon,” you turned to him, “... do I really look so terrible?”

Aegon glanced up at you, his mouth formed in a hard line. He cracked his knuckles, shrugging his shoulders. “I won’t lie to you. You look half dead.”

You blinked. Hard. Moving towards a mirror in the hall, you looked at yourself. Dark circles under sunken eyes, your skin was a pale pallor and your hair needed a trim desperately, your split ends curled and fettered. You were gaunt, as well– having lost a bit of weight over the months. “Jesus,” you muttered. Glancing over at Aegon, he was texting again. “Sending an update to the group chat, I guess? ‘Good news, she’s still alive, barely’?”

He snorted, “Yeah– something like that,” finally, he locked his phone and slipped it in his pocket. “I made sure to text Aemond, too.”

Your mouth felt dry at the mention. “Why?”

“He asked.”

“Asked?”

“He asked me to… make sure you were okay.”

Goosebumps prickled at your skin, the ever familiar feeling of nausea and despair swirling in the pit of your stomach. Nibbling at your lip more, you turned away, feeling a bit too exposed. “And what’d you say?”

“I said you were alive but you are not okay.”

Your lips pursed into a line as you tasted a bit of copper in your mouth from chewing on your lip. “I guess that’s right,” you muttered, “Why would he ask?”

“Aemond is… complicated. you know that better than anyone. I don’t know what kind of bug he has up his ass these last few months but… even through all of this, he still cares.”

“Like hell he does,” you snapped, feeling the sting of tears, “If he did, he would’ve given us a chance to talk it out, to… to try, maybe even go to therapy, I don’t fucking know– he would’ve reached out– anyone should’ve reached out,” your hand went to your hair, right at your hairline at your scalp, picking at the hairs there– another self-destructive habit you’ve picked up in your months of isolation, “I’m so fucking alone, Aegon. He knows… you all know I have absolutely no one else. I’ve been going through this on my own. I have no friends, no family– no brother to go live with when I need space, no family group chat. I don’t have shit, Aegon. All I’ve ever known in my life is him and you and Helaena and Daeron and mom. Why… why does it feel like I was cast off the island without even… a tribal council or something?” you sniffed, the tears coming in full force now.

Aegon was silent, coming up behind you. “I’m… sorry,” he murmured, putting his hands on your shoulders, as frail and skeletal as you were, “We should’ve been better. We… will be better.” he turned you around and pulled you into his chest, enveloping you in his arms. “We thought you would’ve been… fine without him. He made it seem like that– that you were strong enough. I only figured it out yesterday when he was up my ass about texting him as soon as I saw you. He needed to know if you were feeding yourself, if you were keeping up with your medication, if you still had nightmares. A fuckin’... laundry list of questions– I told him to stick his questions up where the sun don’t shine and to see for himself,” he took a breath, “He settled on one question– if you were okay.”

“I think he got his fucking answer, then,” you whispered, “I am not okay. I haven’t been okay in months. I… I need help.”

“I know,” Aegon shifted you slightly to look at your face, “We’ll help you– I promise, you won’t be alone anymore. Look, I’ll even add you to the group chat, okay? I’ll rename it to ‘Aemond Sucks’, how does that sound?”

You cracked a tiny smile, sniffling. “Yeah… I’d like that.”

–

You ended up moving your belongings to your new place the same day, effectively ridding yourself of the constant shadow of Aemond’s memory.

Aegon even took you to Michael’s and HomeGoods to get stuff for your little studio, so you could really make it yours. It was a bit intimidating at first– you weren't used to being able to decorate things the way you wanted, as Aemond always opted to keep things simple and minimalistic.

You, admittedly, went all out. Your new studio looked like a Pinterest board titled ‘cottagecore’. You were incredibly happy with it all, practically jumping up and down at it.

“It looks so good! I love these little mushroom chairs you picked out, Egg,” you hummed, patting some plush felted stools in the shape of mushrooms, which you put near the window. “I bet Helaena would love it.”

“Let’s take some pictures for the group chat, Hel will literally be all over this. you two always love that cottagecore, fairycore, fantasy… shit.” he grinned, stooping down to take some very out of perspective pictures of the mushroom chairs, making them look fifty feet tall.

You settled into your new place quickly, having Helaena, Aegon and Daeron over quite often for drinks and movies. Your health steadily improved until you were mostly back to normal physically– there would be a lot of scars internally, however that would take longer to heal, if you ever would. You had developed a trust issue complex since Aemond’s unceremonious exit from your life and hadn’t gone on any dates, you didn’t know when or if you would ever be ready. They did you the courtesy of not mentioning Aemond, until Daeron said something odd.

It was about four months after you moved in, and almost a full year since you’d last seen Aemond. You were all a few mixed drinks in, Aegon had made them and you were heavy on the alcohol, light on the ‘mix’, and you were all kicked back on the couch, with Aegon laying on the mushroom chairs stacked next to each other, lazed back like a cat.

“Mom says she wants you over for Christmas dinner,” Daeron said, taking a sip of his drink, “She figured it’d be fine with Aemond going off with his new…” he blinked, catching himself.

Helaena nudged Daeron in the ribs as a warning, staring at their friend warily.

“... his new? His new what?” you asked, your voice so quiet that it must’ve been like a squeak.

“... new girlfriend.” he finished.

You were silent for a while before sighing. “I figured it would happen eventually. I can only hope that it… wasn’t too soon after we broke up– or whatever… happened.”

“We all told him it was fucked up that he just left and ghosted you, lovey. Even mom got on his ass about it, and he is her favorite child who usually can do no wrong.” Helaena put her drink down, wrapping her arm around you. “You should come to Christmas dinner, everyone would be super happy to see you! And Aemond won’t be there, so even more reason to come. Please.” she whimpered, using her best puppy-dog face.

You mulled it over in your mind for a few moments. You couldn’t think of anything more painful than being alone during the holidays, so you nodded.

–

It was snowing on Christmas day, the flurries coming down and melting against your skin as you waited for Aegon to pick you up. You were wearing a red checkered tapestry dress with a flannel jacket, a white fluffed scarf wrapped around your neck and lower face. As soon as you saw the familiar color of Aegon’s truck, you practically booked it into the passenger seat.

“Merry Christmas, you look fantastic,” Aegon mused, ever the charmer. “I’ve got the heater on full blast, I promise– but y’know my old boy’s puttering these days. We’ll need to get some speed for it to really warm up.”

“Mmm,” you murmured, your teeth chattering, “S’cold.”

He reached back and grabbed a well-used blanket, draping it over your legs. “Better?”

“... yeah– but,” you blinked, raising a brow. “What do you have this in the truck for?”

Aegon laughed as he began the drive to his family’s estate. “I think you know.”

“Please don’t tell me you’ve fucked someone on this blanket, Aegon.”

“Someones– not just someone. But I keep it clean, no worries!”

The drive to the Targaryen estate was about an hour and a half from town, nestled deep into an expansive forest where there weren’t any other homes in at least five miles. It was a gorgeous, Victorian style mansion and according to Daeron, was most certainly haunted. You had been here numerous times, of course, but it’d been a while. As you pulled up in the driveway, you saw Alicent standing outside the door dressed in a gorgeous red and green festive dress, hair curled to perfection. Nothing less was expected of Alicent, though.

“Oh, my darling,” Alicent cooed, holding her arms out to caress who she thought of as her fifth child. “It’s been too long, I’ve missed you.”

Your heart warmed under Alicent’s caress, someone who had become more of a mother figure to you than your actual mother. You sniffed, pressing your forehead into Alicent’s shoulder. “Missed you too, mom.”

“Come on, you both can cry inside in the nice toasty house, yeah? I’m freezing my balls off here, mom.”

Alicent huffed, ushering both of you inside. “Don’t be vulgar, son– it’s Christmas.”

Helaena and Daeron were already there, as well as Otto, who gave you a stiff nod as a greeting, as was his usual means of communication.

You settled into the kitchen, Alicent pouring everyone apple cider and dishing out at least six types of holiday themed cookies. About an hour after arriving, there was a knock on the door.

“Oh, that must be Rhaenyra and Laena. Can you answer the door, darling? I need to take the roast out of the oven. I’m sure they would be happy to see you!”

“Mhm!” you mused through bites of cookies. You loved Rhaenyra and Laena, who were technically married with husbands, as was Alicent, but the three of them were in a secret, not so secret to anyone with eyes, polyamorous relationship. It always amused all of their kids when they tried to hide it.

You turned the doorknob, fully expecting to see Rhaenyra and Laena. It was not.

Aemond.

“Fuck.” you blurted out, eyes wide. It had been the better part of a year since you had last seen him. His hair was longer now, gathered into a low bun at the nape of his neck, his cheeks a bit more gaunt. He still wore his earrings and his rings– including the one you had given him almost a decade ago.

“Shit.” he responded, seemingly caught equally off guard by seeing you again. The pupil of his non-prosthetic eye dilated until the iris was almost consumed in black, before he flexed his hand and reeled himself in.

You couldn’t help but notice he was alone– no ‘new girlfriend’ as Daeron had put it. “Aemond,” you breathed, feeling like you were outside of your own body, your head filled with fluff and static. “Merry… Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas.” he responded gruffly, “Can I come in?”

“Oh– yeah, duh,” you chastised yourself, stepping aside to let him in. “Sorry.”

“Mm.” he grunted in his usual manner. That seemed to be a habit he hadn’t dropped.

You all but retreated to the kitchen, the expression on your face telling everything. Aegon, Daeron, and Helaena gathered around you.

“I didn’t invite him, I swear.” Aegon whispered.

“Well, neither did I!” Daeron professed.

“Don’t look at me, I didn’t invite him. He left me on read three weeks ago when I sent him a picture of a bug on my windowsill.” Helaena sniffed.

A new voice chimed in. “I invited him,” Alicent spoke, breaking up the little posse, “I told him to come over or he would be grounded for three months.”

All four of you stared at Alicent, deadpanned.

“Mom– he’s… almost twenty-seven. you can’t ground him,” Daeron said, confused. “And moreover, why? Wasn’t he busy?”

“Well, first off, he is my son, so I wanted to see him for Christmas. Two, I believe we have someone here who has some unresolved issues with him.” Alicent responded, staring right at you pointedly.

“... I don’t know… I… I don’t know if I can talk to him. It’s been too long… I feel like I was just getting over all of this.”

“Well, do I have any say in this?” Aemond barged into the circle, his hands in his pockets.

You suddenly felt overwhelmed, the familiar bubbling of everything being too much rising in your stomach. You were teleported back to months ago when you were barely alive, trapped in your own mind. “I… I need… I need a minute.” you muttered, your voice sounding distorted as you made your way to the bathroom, turning on the faucet. Chest heaving, you were already crying, the waterworks starting somewhere between the hallway and the sink.

“You’re always fucking crying, I can’t take it anymore.” Aemond’s voice from months and months ago echoed in your head, causing the tears to flow more. You bit against your lip, tasting blood right away as you willed yourself to stop crying.

“S-stop… stop crying,” you whispered, fingers messing up your hair as you held fistfuls of it. You couldn’t catch your composure for the life of you, sliding against the bathroom wall onto the floor.

Vision blurring, you don’t know how long you were incoherent for. When you came back to yourself, Aemond was in front of you, crouched down.

“Hey,” he murmured softly, the door closed behind him, “It’s okay.”

You swallowed, still numb as he pried your fists from your head, out of your hair, smoothing it down.

“Look at me, can you do that? Nod if you can hear me.”

You nodded slowly, the feeling coming back to your extremities in a sprightly tickling sensation. You blinked tears from your eyes, the liquid smearing your vision.

Aemond rasped a thumb over your eyes, effectively clearing the obstruction from your vision. “Just breathe,” he continued to whisper. It was ever reminiscent of when he would calm you down after a nightmare, voice low and scratchy in a way that comforted you. He was so close now, closer than he’d been in forever. He still smelled the same, the scent triggering a deep aching within your chest. A scent that took you forever to get rid of, but you never truly could. “Can… we talk?” he asked then, his voice sounding more vulnerable than ever.

It felt like whiplash, visions of your previous fights plaguing you, where he had been so closed off, so far away, so distant that you couldn’t reach him– and now, he was here. In the present, in the flesh. In front of you, opened. Not opened completely, but you could see it, like the slit of a cracked door, the light bleeding through. It was there.

“... yeah.”

“I… I’m… I’m sorry. What I did was fucked up. It was fucked up and wrong and you didn’t deserve any of it.”

“You’re right about that,” you muttered, pulling your knees up to your chest, wrapping your arms around them. “I didn’t deserve it.”

Aemond’s mouth twitched slightly before he sat down next to you, propping up his legs in a criss-cross. He opened his mouth to speak a few times, before closing it. His hands flexed and unflexed in quick succession– he was clearly thinking very carefully about his next words. “... I’ve… got issues. You know that better than anyone. I don’t know what was going through my head those months that we fought. I can hardly remember it now, it was like… I was in a fog, a haze– I was working myself half to death, I just wanted dad to notice, to fucking… appreciate me,” he put his hands on his head, “I was so… tied up in this illusion that if I made junior associate at the firm so young that he would congratulate me on my achievement and…” Aemond let out a sigh, “And… in the process… I pushed you away.”

You looked at him, feeling your gaze soften ever so slightly. You knew that his father was a sore spot for him and that trauma ran deep. “You didn’t just push me away, Aemond,” you sighed, reaching out a shaky hand to pry one of his from his face. “... if you would’ve just talked to me, I could’ve helped. You didn’t push… you… you shoved, you shoved and ran in the other direction.”

His one violet eye danced towards you. “I know. I’ve been kicking myself for it. When Aegon told me you weren’t doing well… I almost left work to see you.”

“... you did?”

“Yeah. Aegon basically told me not to– that… this was something you needed space for. Kind of like I did but… maybe in a more healthy way.”

“A text wouldn’t have hurt.”

He reached into his pocket and took out his phone– his wallpaper was still the same as it was, a picture of you, him and Vhagar very unhappy in an elf costume. He scrolled to his notes app, which was filled with messages addressed to you. “... I thought it might, after what Aegon had said. I was… ashamed of how I acted, how I handled the whole thing– how I left you alone without a word. He told me how you looked… dead. I didn’t want to make it worse.”

Your eyes scanned the messages, picking out some words. The main ones that caught your gaze were ‘sorry’, ‘love’, ‘regret’. A huge breath left your lungs, feeling as if everything had been knocked out of you at once. You felt like you were being whipped back and forth in the wind, trying to grab onto anything. If you both weren’t so stubborn and just messaged one another– well, no. You did message him, one time. “I thought you blocked me.”

“... for five minutes, maybe.”

“God, we’re so fucking stupid, Aemond.”

“You aren’t– don’t say that. I’m literally a dumbass. All of my siblings told me so, even my own mother, and you know she never curses.”

The tiniest of smiles cracked onto your face as you jostled his shoulder. “Yeah… you are a dumbass. I am allowed to say it at least once. So, um,” you shuffled slightly, “Daeron kind of let it slip that you had a new girlfriend?”

Aemond pinched his brow. “Of course he said that. He is twenty-one years old and still doesn’t know how to use his goddamn ears. I said I was seeing a new therapist, not that I had a fucking girlfriend.”

“A therapist?”

“... things got really dark for me after I moved back into our… no, my… place. After you officially moved out. It felt lifeless, all of your things were gone, the fucking warmth sucked out of the place. It felt like it’d been sterilized of anything… good. I feel into something– I don’t know, a depression? I guess, that’s what Aegon called it. He suggested I see a therapist, citing me as ‘an emotionally stunted asshole who needs more therapy than him’.” he exaggerated the last bit with air quotes, rolling his eye.

“... he isn’t wrong. I mean, I love your family, but all of you are all kinds of fucked up. Maybe I am too, practically being a part of it.”

Aemond chuckled, giving a tight lipped smile. “We are fucked up. I realized that… I really do not give a shit what my dad thinks, because nothing will ever be good enough for him. He’s so far gone now that he probably doesn’t even know we exist. I’ve come to terms with that and honestly… it feels like a weight has been lifted.”

“I’m glad you could… work through some of that, Aemond.” you say sincerely, resting your cheek on his arm absentmindedly.

“... I want to talk about us.”

“... us. Okay.”

“I don’t expect you to want to jump right back into things. It would be unfair to think that– but… maybe we could try?”

Your chest feels a bit tight at his admission– he wanted to try. Every fiber in your being wanted to say yes and jump back into it like you’d never left. But you knew you couldn’t. There were still parts of you scarred by this whole experience, some parts that may never heal. It would take a long time and a lot of talks like this to even get some semblance of what the both of you had. “Well… before we were together, believe it or not, we were friends. Could we… try that for right now?”

His chest visibly deflated a bit, but he nodded. “Whatever you need, okay?”

–

The days following Christmas, leading up to New Year’s were… different. You and Aemond were back in contact, going out for coffee and lunch a few times.

On the day before New Year’s eve, you texted him.

Turns out, timing the movie to sync with 12 am on New Year’s day to Toby Maguire saying ‘Pizza time’ was difficult. Well, it wasn’t difficult for normal people– but you and Aemond were a bit tipsy, as Aegon had left some hard apple ciders in your fridge, to which you both indulged.

“Okay, okay,” Aemond stared at his phone, “5… 4… 2… wait, no, fuck, 3… 2… I think we fucked it up– just go, go!”

Quickly, you started the movie. “Maybe we should’ve practiced– can we start over?” you plopped on the couch, sinking into the sofa and taking a swig of the cider.

“Doesn’t work like that, sweetheart. Can’t turn back time.” he mused softly, squatting down on one of the mushroom stools. “Pretty comfy.”

“Aegon picked those out, nifty, huh?”

“Nifty.” he parroted.

The movie continued on, but as it went on, there was an unspoken tension growing. Aemond hadn’t sat on the couch, but rather, the stools that were on the other side of the room. It felt like a chasm had formed, the strain almost palpable.

You chewed on your lip anxiously, contemplating whether or not to say anything. But, you had both been trying a new technique called ‘communication’ – a pretty cool and helpful thing that Aemond’s therapist had taught him. You remember laughing when he posed it that same way– but it was extremely important. You cleared your throat. “Why are you sitting all the way over there?”

“... um. I wanted to try the mushroom seats, I guess.”

“You don’t want to sit next to me?” you countered, feeling especially brave.

“Is that… alright?”

“Um, duh. I invited you over for pizza and a movie so we could… sit together. Not for you to be half a mile away sitting on a mushroom.”

“As long as it’s alright with you.” he murmured, sitting up from the mushroom stool and making his way over to you, sliding onto the couch, still a few feet away from you.

You weren’t sure if it was the atmosphere, the pent up emotions, the small buzz of alcohol, or a destructive cocktail of all three, but you inched closer to him. Closer, closer… until your thighs were touching. You glanced up at him beneath fettered lashes. “Hi.”

“Hey.” he responded, his voice low and warm. It caused a balmy and comforting vibration to go through you, reverberating in your chest.

You became all too aware of your movements, your closeness to him, the skin of your thigh grazing against his jeans as you got as close as you could. Your lips parted slightly as he stared back down at you. “Can… we?”

“Can we, what?” he murmured, lacing his fingers through your loose hair, gently grasping it at the nape of your neck. “Use your words, sweetheart.”

“... kiss. A little bit.”

“Just a little bit?”

“Mhm. A teeny bit.” you leaned up, Aemond meeting you halfway as your lips came together. The culmination of your year apart, all of the emotions, the sadness, the frustration and anger, the passion, love, tears– all of it came together at this moment as the two of you melded together perfectly, as if you’d never left. You couldn’t help but let out a sigh of contentment, followed by what could only be articulated as a moan.

It caught both of you off guard, Aemond pulling away for a moment, his lips still ghosting over yours. “Fucking hell,” he breathed against your skin, sending goosebumps tingling from your tailbone up to the nape of your neck, the hairs on your body standing on end. “I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you,” you responded before latching onto him once more. It started off loving and slow, your lips moving against one another like two old lovers dancing together– then it began to heat up, your mouth parting to accommodate his tongue, gnashing against yours as their dance turned up a notch. Your hands roamed his body, everything you committed to memory for so many years still in its same spot. It felt good, it felt like home. “Please, Aemond– I… I need you. It’s been so long… too long…”

“Too long since I’ve had you, had this,” his hand reached down, cupping your mound still hidden beneath your panties. Somehow, you foresaw this moment before it happened and thankfully wore a light dress. “Let me in, love.”

You parted your legs, feeling the ever familiar crook of his fingers slide down the front of your panties, testing the waters. The pad of his thumb and middle finger locked on instantly to your clit, swirling the sensitive bud, sending electric shocks through your extremities. You bit your lip to stifle a moan, pressing your forehead against his. “Need you inside, now.” you all but growled as you peppered little kisses along the soft flesh of his neck.

He wouldn’t keep you waiting long, as it seemed he needed this as much as you did. He parted your panties to the side, propping you on top of him and sliding you down his length, earning a hissed gasp from both of you. It took all of his strength not to burst in you right then, as you enveloped him in your tight, wet heat. “You were made for me,” he breathed, biting down on your shoulder, leaving red marks. One of his favorite things to do was to mark you, leaving hickies in his wake as he worshiped every inch of exposed skin he could reach. “Melded so perfectly, just for me.” he grabbed the flesh of your bottom, squeezing gently at first, then landing a smack on it as he began to thrust up into you.

You nodded fervently, hiccuping little moans as you dug your face into his shoulder, biting him in turn. Your nails sunk into his skin, indenting against his spine as they always had, as they always were meant to. It felt much like a pianist resting their fingers on the ivories after a long break, the pads of your fingers sinking into the ridges of his very being. You were meant to be here, he was meant to be here. You could feel your end coming on all too soon, his cock filling every nook and cranny of you, bullying that spongy, delicate sweet spot just right. You began to clench, your tell-tale sign to him that you were close.

“I love you,” he whispered, panting slightly, using one hand to push your face back so you could meet his gaze. His wild, pupil-blown out gaze, cheeks reddened, mouth parted, brow furrowed. “I love you, I fucking love you. I missed you– fuck.”

“I l-love you,” you responded before he parted your lips with his thumb, “Love you so much– p-please, s’close.” you whined into his mouth.

“Let go, sweetheart, c’mon,” he grinned against your lips, nipping and biting at them. “Come for me.”

That was all you needed, the twine of your climax coming undone right in your core, snapping like a taut thread. Your usual habit was to hide your face in his shoulder when you came, whimpering and panting– but he didn’t let you this time. He held your face, staring at you intently as if you were a piece of fine art on display, and he was a connoisseur.

You clenched around him tightly, spurring him to his own end. His hard wrought fingers gripped your ass like it was a lifeline, grunting as he found his release deep within you, where it was always meant to be.

Coming down from your high, you slumped against his chest, mouth parted. Embarrassingly enough, a little drool wetted your lips. You were fully and thoroughly fucked out, not even registering that Tobey Maguire said “Pizza time!”

“Happy New Year, love,” Aemond murmured against your hair, nestling you tightly against him. He didn’t pull out– he preferred it this way, having you warm him through until you both fell asleep.

“... Happy New Year,” you whispered back.

–

Two and a half months later, it was Valentine's day. You and Aemond were officially dating again as of January 2nd, much to the surprise of no one.

You both took things as slow as you could, keeping separate apartments for the time being– but you’d given him a key to your place about two weeks in, and he was there all the time, taking much needed leave from work.

Unlocking the door to your apartment, you walked in, seeing Aemond lounging on the couch with a scruffy brown furball on him.

“Oh, Vhagar! You brought my baby,” you mused, dropping your items (with some grace, so as not to scare the geriatric cat), walking over, “Oh, I hope she remembers me.” you frowned, kneeling down and offering your hand to her.

“Of course she’ll remember, she yelled at me for a good three months at Aegon’s when we were without you.”

Vhagar sniffed your hand for a good minute before blinking her sleepy, lazy eyes at you, then promptly rubbing her scraggly cheek fur on your hand. You were elated, scratching her cheeks, hearing the tinkling of a little bell.

“A new collar?”

“Mhm, take a look.”

You swirled the collar around, looking for the name tag– only to find… a ring. An opal and moonstone ring. Your heart stopped in your chest as you stared at Aemond.

“I would get down on one knee– I was intending on you coming home and Vhagar running to you and then you finding it… but she’s on me, and I can’t get up. Cat rules,” he mused, unclipping the collar from her neck and slipping the ring onto your finger. “I know we’ve only been dating for… a month and a half, so stop me if it’s too soon.” he grinned, his toothy smile.

Vhagar gave a croaking meow, promptly jumping off of Aemond’s lap. As soon as the old cat was off, you threw yourself at Aemond, blubbering. “This… this…” you sniffed, unable to form words.

“Just so there isn’t any confusion… will you marry me?” he asked, wiping your tears away with his thumb.

“Yes, yes– I will,” you sniffle, burying your face in his chest and sobbing.

He let you sob on him, getting his shirt all snotty and wet, all while smiling.

After crying for at least ten minutes, you manage to take a picture, sending it to the group chat, with the caption: “I think we should add him to the chat now, guys.”

Ding.

“Is this group chat named ‘Aemond sucks’?”

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youraverageaemondsimp · 11 months ago

Text

New Year, New beginnings // Aemond Targaryen x Fem!Reader // MODERN AU.

Summary: An invitation from your ex to a formal party at his house was a surprise, what you didn't expect was how things would escalate so quickly.

WARNINGS: minors do not interact. afab!reader, unprotected p in v sex, exes to lovers, oral m receiving, throat-fucking, rough sex(?), Aemond being desperate, masturbation, tiddy sucking, cumming inside, new years sex, making up, teasing, + not proofread, please lmk if I missed any!

WC: 2k

A/N: first fic of 2024! happy (late) new year everyone! wishing you a good year ahead!! <333 // divider creds: @cafekitsune

You and Aemond have broken up a few months ago, it was a decision you both had to make in order to continue on with your life, it was not toxic, just a mutual parting between two lovers on a common ground where they both understood each other.

But why do you still long for him? Frankly, you did not remember why you both had broken up because you had realised it was probably not that important, yet now, you know you cannot go back because both of you are in the process of moving on.

The invitation to a New years party from the targaryen was a surprise, it was a formal party where the rich gathered so why were you invited? Not to mention the invitation was from Aemond himself.

You had pondered on whether to attend or not, but it has been a few months since you last saw Aemond, it would be a nice change of pace to see him again, but you had to prepare yourself.

And there you were, standing in the middle of the party trying to look for Aemond which turns out to be a bad idea when you spot him with another woman, who had her hand on his arm, talking pretty closely. You felt a pang through your chest at that sight but you closed your eyes and took a deep breath.

Aemond seemed to have spotted you now, he seemed to be taken back by surprise before he ditched that woman next to him and rushed over to you, he seemed breathless when he began speaking. “I didn't expect you to turn up.” He told you, catching his breath.

“Well I had to come, I missed seeing you, Aemond.” You tell him honestly and smile up at him which makes him smile too, “You look so beautiful today.” He compliments you, his habit of taking your hand in his when he compliments bursts right through making him do it, his finger grazes over your empty ring finger, likely in thought that before you broke up, you had planned getting engaged.

The air is filled with tension when his eye doesn't leave the spot, and his grip slightly tightens on your hands, he gives them a light squeeze before letting go of them, and you clear your throat.

“You look quite handsome yourself, Aemond.” You tell him genuinely and he blushes slightly, looking down before looking back at you, “Thank you.” He replies and you grin at him.

“I was shocked to see the invitation you know, I thought I was getting put on trial when I saw the targtower stamp.” you joked which made him chuckle. “My apologies, but don't be surprised if you are put on trial because it is quite illegal to look extremely beautiful and desiring.” He replies back and you hit his arm playfully, “That's so cheesy Aemond! Did Aegon teach you this?” You ask, rolling your eyes at the way that stupid line caused you to blush, and Aemond nods, “Of course, only Aegon is capable of teaching a line that is highly cringe- though it made me feel warm inside when it was you who said it.” You tell him shyly and he smirks.

“Did it? Guess I still have it in me hm..” The way his voice became an octave lower and his hum made the air between you fill up with sexual tension. “I still feel the same about you.” You blurt out and he stares at you.

That's when your eyes widen in realisation at what you said and before you can backtrack, he grabs you by your arms and pulls you closer, adjusting himself to whisper in your ear, “To be quite honest, I feel the same.” His hot breath fans in your ear and you gasp, feeling it slightly tickle the side of your neck. He moves back with a smirk on your face and you stare at him dumbfoundedly, Aemond doesn't hesitate to grab you by your arm and take you away from the party, everyone minding their own business to even notice the absence of the second son, this allowed him to slip away with him unnoticed.

Well, until you caught the prying eyes of Aegon, who gave you a wink which made you blush in embarrassment and look away.

You knew Aemond was taking you, to his bedroom, which was located on the side of the entire mansion, his footsteps were hurried, he was practically trying to run for it. His patience keeps wearing thin as he is nearby his room, and the moment he enters it, he quickly shuts the door behind you and pins you to it.

“Can I?” His voice breaks as he tries to restrain himself from touching you in a way that makes you uncomfortable, you nod at him, indicating that you want this just as he does and he doesn't waste any time as his lips are already pressed against yours.

It started off slow at first, his hands holding your waist as he keeps you pinned to the door, the kiss turning more and more desperate as each moment passes on, you place your hand on his shoulder before sliding it up to his hair, you push yourself against him, deepening the kiss as your grip on his hair, he groans into the kiss which allows you to push your tongue into his mouth and further intensifying the kiss.

He pulls away and rests his forehead against yours, breathing heavily. “I missed you.” He tells you and you smile at him, “I missed you too.” You are pulled into another passionate kiss before Aemond pulls you off the wall and throws you on the bed.

You watch as he unbuttons his suit and shit, leaving him in his pants, he pulls you to edge of the bed by your leg and you look up at him with wide eyes, he doesn't need to tell you anything, but the look in his eye, you understand what he wanted and you immediately begin to unbuckle his pants and pull them down.

You gently hold his cock before pumping it up and down, making it rise to full hardness, you always loved how pretty his dick looked, you stared into his eyes and licked the tip teasingly, making him gasp, you teased him more, swirling your tongue around his tip and sucking on it from time to time, your other hand moved to play with his balls, and you give them a squeeze.

“Fuckk, stop fucking teasing.” He groans, and you disobey his command, liking the reactions you're getting out of him, you continue to tease. Soon Aemond has had enough and grips your hair tightly and pushes you down causing you to take his entire cock into your mouth, leading you to gag on it.

He holds the sides of your head stable and begins fucking your mouth with no mercy, your hands rest on his hips, gripping them tightly as he abuses your mouth and throat, “Look at you, taking me so well, good girl.” He praises you which causes you to rub your thighs together, trying to ease the tension forming there.

His thrusts become sloppy, his hand quickly makes work of your dress, pulling it down to reveal your tits before he pulls you off his cock and pushes you onto the bed, he climbs atop you and pumps himself with his hand before he finishes with a loud groan on your chest, his cum pooling on your breasts and collarbone.

He watches the way you press your thighs together in arousal, squirming while trying to ease the itch in between them, he smirks before he parts your legs forcefully, causing your face to heat up in embarrassment at how wet you had become, soaking your panties. “Fuck you're so wet, all this for me hm?” His hum makes it worse.

“Touch yourself.” He commands you and you stare at him confused, “Did you not hear me? Touch. yourself.” His voice becomes stern and you immediately obey, pulling off your underwear along with your dress, leaving yourself fully naked, and spreading your legs wide, giving him the entire view. You press your fingers on your clit before rubbing slow circles onto it, he watches you with an intense gaze that makes you quiver beneath him. Aemond seemed as though he had two different personalities, he was extremely caring and sweet in your relationship but he had a rough side when it came to sex, and you loved and missed it so much.

You couldn't just find pleasure through your clit anymore and opted to push your finger inside your cunt, you gasped at the delicious stretch, almost forgetting that Aemond was there, he still hasn't moved from his spot nor did he stop staring at you, but his breathing did become heavier.

One finger wasn't enough, so you added another one and tried setting a pace that would be pleasurable, but knowing how Aemond's cock was only few inches away and the thought of having it in you made your pleasure feel as nothing, so you became desperate, gripping the bed sheet and bucking your hips up to meet your own pace.

Suddenly a hand pushes your hips down and another grips your wrist and makes you pull out of yourself, “Enough.” He gasps and you notice how his own hand was shaking while it was gripping your wrist, he brings it to his mouth before licking your fingers clean and then dropping it. You noticed how unbearably hard he had become and he was shaking from how hard he was holding himself back.

You spread your legs wider, “Fuck me, Aemond.”

Those words were enough to make him go feral, he grabs your hips roughly and positions himself, his tip prodding at your entrance, and before you know it, he shoves him inside you, the stretch causing you to cling on his shoulders and throw your head back.

He begins to move, thrusting in and out of you, his thrusts held an odd feeling of desperation, the way he grunted above you as his hair curtained your face, him biting his inner up with his eyes closed as he felt your walls gripping onto him, everything was so delicious, and soon you were lost in the pleasure yourself.

He knew all your weak spots, perfectly hitting the sweet point each and every time, drawing your orgasm near and near, you were so lost in the pleasure to barely hear the countdown everyone began chanting as the new year drew closer, just as your orgasm did.

Three

His lips descended on your breasts and began to suckle on your nipple, simultaneously cleaning up his spend which gathered there, while his thrusts became sloppy.

Two

The combined pleasure drew your orgasm near and near, and his hand immediately went down to your clit, rubbing fast circles onto it.

One

Your orgasm drew closer and closer and before you knew it, it hit you extremely hard.

Happy new year!

You came with a cry, and so did Aemond, the crowds loud cheering and the fireworks being sent off into the sky was tuned out by the ringing in your ear because of your pleasure being ripped through you.

Aemond groaned as he finished himself deep inside of you, and proceeded to ride his orgasm out, he kissed you one final time before plopping down next to you and began to catch his breath.

“Happy new year.” He tells you and you smile, wishing him back, “Happy new year, Aemond.”

“Will you be mine again? I promise this time we'll work everything out.” He asks and you chuckle, “Yes Aem, I wanted to ask you that too.” You tell him unashamedly and he gazes lovingly at you before kissing you.

“I love you so much, Y/N, I am so thankful for you.” He says softly, making you feel all warm inside.

“I love you too Aem, you mean so much to me.” You reply, and press a kiss to his forehead.

— ! ݈݇- thank you so much for reading! i hope you enjoyed it <3 comments and reblogs are appreciated greatly ♡

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