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mechazushi · 2 months ago

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God, you're dense [Affectionate].

{a Kn8 short story}

Hoshina wasn't one to play games. Sure, he liked to have fun, but playing with people's emotions and perceptions wasn't something he could get into. He raised himself on the belief that being straight forward on something was the best course of action. If someone couldn't get on the same page as him, that was on them. He worked in a position where the best moves forward and anyone else that can't keep up with him were best left behind. Of course, much like most rules in life, there were exceptions to the rule. His biggest fault to everything he stood for was a tall, jolly, brute of a beast named Kafka. Kafka would be an exception to most everything he would die on a hill for. On the opposite end of the spectrum, however, was one person that he held to the highest accordance of his standards. His brother.

Hoshina made a point not to talk to his brother after he got accepted into the defense force. The restrictions on that got tighter after he got accepted as Mina's Vice Captain. Since before, he still showed up to family gatherings at the least to entertain his mother's concerns about his livelihood in the Third Division. Still, just because he didn't make attempts to contact his family, doesn't mean his family doesn't make attempts to contact him. It was always inevitable (because they don't tell him ahead of time) always with the supposed best of intentions (Because what quality road to hell isn't paved with them) and always at the most inconvenient times (an ability that seemed to be an inbred skill in every other family member). Between catching up on chores that should have been done yesterday, decaf in the communal coffee machine, and his third favorite pen breaking, Hoshina found he wasn't in the mood to talk. So obviously it was a perfect time to be visited by his least favorite person.

Walking down the hallway with a mountain of signed paperwork, his pace was intended to be brisk, but felt sluggish all the same. As he passed an intersection in hallways, he noticed the large frame of a burly friend catching up behind him. As Kafka slowed his pace to match his commander's, Hoshina tilted his face in his direction and flashed what was hoped to be a casual and respectful smile.

"Had a feeling you'd feel like that once I heard about the incident at the coffee machine. Here. Brought this for ya." Kafka said as he handed over a steaming mug of dark tan coffee.

"Oh, I already had coffee today." Hoshina tried to politely decline. he guessed his smile wasn't as bright as it should have been if Kafka could see he was feeling off.

"Yeah, but that was decaf." he insisted as he held the mug by its rim and pointed its handle temptingly toward its intended recipient.

Hoshina stiffed its steam heavily as it wafted under his nose. The smell of a caffeinated brew being much more rejuvenating than the bland swill he choked down this morning. He didn't think twice as he shifted the paper load more securely under his arm and took the offered mug greedily. There was a low, grateful moan as the hot, searing, and just lightly sweetened liquid burned pleasantly down the back of his throat.

'You might've just saved my mental state yet again, Kafka." Hoshina finally muttered after nearly downing half of the mug.

Kafka just chuckled as he walked in time with him, and after a while, held out a hand in an offer to carry the paperwork. Hoshina politely refused again, feeling genuinely better now that he had something more stimulating coursing throughout his system. Walking side by side, they engaged in pleasant idle chatter as they continued down the hallway. Without checking how far they had walked, they neared an area that had a lobby that was sparsely populated. As they got closer, an irritatingly familiar voice rang clear in the partially echoey room.

"Brother Dearest!" Soichiro Hoshina, Soshiro's older brother, was leaning against the desk in the back center of the lobby, relaxing like he deserved the space he was taking up.

"Oh God, why aren't I being delivered from evil like I ask every Shrine visit?" Soshiro muttered as soon as he realized who was occupying the open room with them.

"That's your brother?" Kafka asked as he laid eyes on the visitor.

"Unfortunately." Soshiro said with every letter somehow overflowing with distain and loudly enough to be heard by the other person.

"Come on, brother! You had to have known that one of these visits was to have to happen soon? It's been, what, months since you've even sent at minimum a hello to Mother." Soichino's words were playful, a clear difference in demeanor to the attitude his younger brother was radiating. A second had passed as he clearly gave the plus one an interested once-over after he lifted his sunglasses off his face.

"Well, hello soldier. And who might you be?" A salacious smile slithered coolly over Soichiro's glossy, thin lips. His tongue flicked out and over his teeth teasingly as he continued to stare down Kafka with a darkened sense of interest. Kafka bowed deeply in greeting before he introduced himself.

"Kafka Hibino. Officer of the Third Division." was his militantly clipped response.

"Kafka... Kafka... Where have I heard that name before?" Soichiro drawled out as he shifted over to Kafka's side, poking his shoulder with the arm of his sunglasses with playful emphases.

"He's our Kaiju Number Eight, you salacious cur. Now what are you doing here?" Soshiro snarked as he took another sip of his coffee. His brother made no move to acknowledge the comment as he continued to speak directly to Kafka.

"Kaiju Number Eight, huh! So you're the beast on the battlefield. Is it too much for me to ask if you're a beast anywhere else?" That Cheshire smile never left his face as his eyes turned into a more evaluating gaze.

"Well, I'm the Division's only on call Kaiju. It's pretty safe to say that I'm always the beast when it's needed." Kafka smiled bashfully as a hand came up to scratch the back of his neck. Soichiro practically giggled as a hand came up to mischievously smack the other shoulder.

"Look at you! Making out to be something that strong and powerful as a humble brag!" the older brother seemed to slide in closer to Kafka's personal space, with Kafka playing it off as business as usual. Soshiro could feel the handle of the mug creaking under his tightened grip as he looked on at his brother's shameless display.

"Ya know, I had originally cleared out my schedule to take my brother out on a lunch date, but I've just realized he's been a horrible brother and hasn't shown me around the Third Division's main facilities not once!", Soichiro saddled up impossibly closer and even had the audacity to slip a hand around the back of Kafka's forearm, "Why don't I be a good Captain and help clear yours so you can show me around? I'm sure any tour by you would be far more interesting than what he could provide." Soshiro watched as he saw the offer being sealed with an obviously flirty wink.

"Well, I'd be happy to! That is, if it's alright with my Vice Captain?" Kafka asked as he looked innocently toward the younger brother, seemingly unaware or unaffected by the attention he was currently being given.

"No Kafka, that won't be necessary, If my brother is going to come out all this way to see me, then he's just going to have to settle for my company alone." Soshiro said as he placed his paperwork and his coffee mug on the abandoned reception desk.

"Yeah, that makes sense. Maybe some other time?" Kafka asked as he looked at the older Hoshina brother.

"Such a shame. Don't be surprised if I take you up on that offer." Soichiro tittered as he patted the other side of the forearm he was still holding onto. The two brothers watched intently as Kafka turned around and walked down the hallway. Soshiro waited until he was out of every possible hearing range before he decided to speak.

"Alright, you bottle-platinum harlot. What the hell was that display all about?" Soshiro made no attempts to restrain his irritation at his brother's expense. He had no idea what game his brother was trying to play with him, but he wouldn't stand for it since it seemed to involve a very close and personal friend of his.

"I don't know what you mean." Soichiro said as he kept tittering. His posture and demeanor revealing to his younger brother that there was a plan brewing behind those evil eyes.

"I will not have you seducing my strongest man over to your division while I'm here." Soshiro commanded as he leveled a piercing gaze at the other person.

"Excuse me, 'Your man'? I'm sorry, but I didn't see a ring on his finger." Soichiro teased as he turned to face his brother.

"That's not what I meant and you know it, you vile rake." Soshiro spat the words out in an attempt to dissuade any further conversation on the topic.

"So catty today, are we brother? I was simply taking in the local selection. I'm not surprised you're interested in him." Soichiro chatted as he teasingly bit on the arm of his sunglasses.

"I also see you've decided to take up slander as a hobby since last we met." Soshiro grumbled as he found himself forced into a position where he had to talk to his brother in person for more than a minute.

"Oh, please! You know our family has a history of liking them sweet and dumb. How do you think Mother's marriage has lasted this long?" Soichiro continued as he leveled a knowing stare at him.

"If you're going to keep insinuating things that don't exist, I'm going to order you to cancel the lunch date and leave." the younger brother retorted as he turned around to drink the last sips from the coffee mug.

"What do you think I'm insinuating?" Soichiro purred as his sight never left his brother.

"Don't toy with me today, you troglodytic trollup. I am in no mood to bat around this string of yarn you're trying to spin here." Soshina kept snapping back as he took the opportunity to avoid eye contact as he shuffled around the stack of papers.

"Why all the denial, Brother Dearest? Especially since we're so far from Egypt. Besides, it's not slander saying you like a coworker as if your interactions weren't displayed all over the news two weeks ago." The grin broke into a full blown, toothy smile of superiority as the Captain of the Sixth Division draped himself over the desk's top next to Soshiro.

"What... interactions?" the Vice Captain hissed as he slowly turned his head to side-eye his brother

"Should I reenact it for you?" Soichiro giggled before flopping onto his back and dramatically fainting, "Oh! I seem to have taken a terrible fall and broken both of my legs! Oh, is there some dark, handsome, Knight in living armour that can princess-carry my oh so fragile body to the farthest fucking ambulance on scene and completely bypass three others that were unoccupied and were going to take me to the same fucking hospital!" It was clear that he was taking a massive amount of joy retelling his version of events that he saw on the news as his voice raised in volume with every reveal.

"I didn't break my legs, I dislocated my ankles! What would you have me do, walk?" Soshiro started to match his brother's volume and had now fully turned to him to confront this problem of point-of-views head on.

"The cameras clearly show you two having a conversation where it shows you convincing him to carry you!" The two of them were so close to each other's faces now their noses could touch.

"I was trying to convince him not to!" Soshiro returned.

"Because the cameras were rolling?" Soichiro asked.

"Yes!" his brother answered.

"AND BECAUSE YOU TWO ARE IN LOVE! Why else be camera shy about being carried around in public?" The eldest returned triumphantly as he poked him in the chest.

"NO." Soshiro shouted back as he shoved his brother backwards, "We are not in love! What part of this do you think it's okay to date someone like him?"

"Oh don't act like you can't because he's under your position. He makes his own precedent as he breathes! And you are the right type of rebellious, attention craving, delinquent punk that would absolutely fall for someone that is perfect for you in all the right ways, while also him being a human anomaly in every sense of the word! He turns into something our family has been training it's young to kill for centuries so of course you're going to deviate from the norm and be practically head over heels for him!" The Captain couldn't stop himself from cackling as his lungs quaked from talking for so long without breath.

There wasn't anything left on the matter that Soshiro could say to make his brother change his mind, so he decided to let his fists do the talking for him as he sent a vicious right hook. His fist connected to his brother's left eye and caught him off guard for a second. Before he could speak out against the assault, the younger brother wasted no time in jumping onto his brother and throwing his fists left and right. The two soon became a mass of tangled limbs and colorful curse words on the floor. It wasn't like this for long as two other people came across the fight and helped break up the fray.

"Alright, alright! Break it UP!" You two are grown up men, and Defense Force officers at that! ACT LIKE IT!" Okonogi reprimanded them as Aoi held them off the ground by their jacket collars.

"Yes, Okonogi." The brothers said in unison. As they were set back on the ground, they straightened their outfits and waited to see if their new company would leave. When they didn't, Soichiro decided to speak what was left on his mind anyway.

"The lunch date is still on, by the way. Mother's orders. How about I give us an hour to cool down and we try this whole 'conversation' thing again?" he tried to say with as much possible conviction in his smile. Soshiro just glared violently as he picked up the stack of papers from the desk.

"I do what I damn well please, you leporid bunk bunny." he said as he stormed off. Everyone watched as he walked away before his older brother spoke up again.

"He'll be fine."

𓈒 𑁍 𓈒

It was a little after seven thirty before Hoshina felt fine enough to interact with anyone. Spending some time in the gym helped him feel better after dealing with the Lunch Date From Hell. It also helped that he got to meet his favorite punching bag for sparring.

"Look -huff- I get you -huff- don't like your brother -huff-, but did you really -huff- need to literally -huff- kick my ass?" Kafka's lungs heaved after spending what felt like hours defending himself from his Vice Captain's volley of blows.

"Ya snooze, ya loose Kafka. Intense training is for your own good." Hoshina quipped back as he walked over to his duffle for water bottles. Kafka shambled behind him slowly and sat down on the bench the bag was next to.

"Intense training, my entire bruised ass. That last chokehold felt personal." Kafka began to regulate his breathing by the time Hoshina made it over with the water bottles.

As Hoshina drank from his, he subtly tried to look at Kafka as he poured some of the bottle's contents onto himself. He watched as the water made his partner's bangs stick to his forehead at odd angles and made a swift attempt to cool his fiery red cheeks. Hoshina didn't let his imagination run too far away from him as he thought about Kafka looking worn out and sweaty for a different reason. Of course he denied everything that was said earlier that was concerning the situation between him and Kafka. Mainly because it all implied that Kafka felt the same way he did. Had it been a complete stranger talking to him this morning, it would have shocked everyone that knew him once they heard how different his answers would have been.

As Kafka finished rubbing the cool water into his face and straightened his back and arms out into an intense looking stretch, Hoshina forced himself to look away from the rippling of muscle and the straining of his tank top around said muscles. In moments like this, when he was sure no one would be looking or they were alone, Hoshina liked to play a little game with Kafka. It wasn't one that you could win with points or anything. Hell, some days it made Hoshina feel like all he did was lose by playing, but he couldn't deny that conniving little twitch that begged for him to play over and over again. All so he could see that dumb little smile.

"Still improving as slow as always." Hoshina said after a minute of relaxing on the bench.

"Hey, at least I am still improving, right?" Kafka returned as he looked back at his Vice Captain.

There was a smile, sure, but it wan't big. He could do better.

"Can't say I don't find you to be consistent at least 1% of the time." Hoshina offered as a response, deciding to bring up a well used joke between them. He turned back to look out at the empty gym in front of them.

"God, I still haven't gotten higher than that, haven't I?" Kafka chuckled out of the side of his mouth.

"It was a good thing we found out you were a kaiju when we did. Could you imagine what would have happened if you couldn't raise that percentage up high enough in three months?" Hoshina thought the comment sounded funnier in his head, but once he heard it out loud he wanted to smack himself for it. Everyone knew that it was a horrible thought, thinking about Kafka not being around anymore. Even that was something Hoshina couldn't bring himself to deny or joke about.

"I do every day." Kafka sighed heavily, "Everyday I wake up here." He closed his eyes for a second as he smiled softly, his head coming to rest against the back wall the bench was against.

Hoshina turned back to look at him, taking Kafka's moment of vulnerability to look at him fully this time. He thought about it too. A life in the Defense Force where he didn't get to see Kafka everyday. A life where he didn't bring him coffee or hear his laugh or have drinks with him after work hours. Hoshina could feel his heart squeeze at the thought of Kafka not being in the Defense Force, or worse, suddenly living at a different Division. Being close by technicality, but feeling oh so very far.

"Did you notice my brother was flirting with you at all?" Hoshina felt himself ask before he could take the words back. He felt himself brace for the answer in the brief moments in between his heartbeats.

"Wait... really?" Kafka asked with genuine interest. Hoshina could feel his face twist into something between curiosity and mild disgust. Kafka couldn't tell he was being flirted with? And was okay with it coming from his brother?

"Ye-yeah?" Hoshina returned hesitantly.

"You sure? 'Cuz I mean... wow. He's... actually interested? In me?" Kafka's smile grew bigger and more wonky as he processed what he was told.

"You're okay with this?" Hoshina questioned incredulously. He could not believe what he was seeing, and was actively praying that this wasn't the case.

"Are you kidding? Of course! You're brother is frickin' hot!" Kafka replied with joy, "Is he, like, still around? I mean, I know he's not here kinda around, but I mean, is he like, nearby? Like in a hotel or something? Nah, that would be creepy. Oh! Could you let me have his number?" Kafka prattled on as Hoshina continued to become more and more disgusted. Sure, he was a little happy to hear that Kafka was cool with being hit on by guys, (and clearly reciprocated the sentiment) but felt absolutely horrified at hearing Kafka wanting his brother's number. So much so that he immediately stood on the bench seat so he could get a good enough vantage to stomp on Kafka to stop his train of thought.

"You! Will! NOT! Be! Dating! My! BROTHER!" Hoshina shouted out between the stomping.

"Jesus! And here I thought you wouldn't be having a problem with me liking guys! Yah know, since you told me about it!" Kafka shouted back as he tried to defend himself from the onslaught.

"I don't have a problem with you dating guys! I have a problem with you dating my brother!" Hoshina said as he pressed his foot down firmly onto Kafka's hands that were protecting his head.

'Well then, who would you rather have me date?" Kafka returned rhetorically.

"Me for starters!" Hoshina finally admitted. Once he did, he let the pressure off of his foot and just stayed in the position for a hot minute, feeling as awkward as a school girl admitting to her first crush. Kafka just held onto the foot as he looked up at his commander with wide, unbelieving eyes. All Hoshina could bring himself to do was look away, his cheeks flushing hot and bright. Kafka helped lower the foot down as he got up from his seat to face him from the front.

"Have... have you been flirting with me too?" Kafka asked. Hoshina still couldn't look at him or answer, so his cheeks answered for him.

"How long have you been flirting with me?" Kafka asked again.

"Two... two years." Hoshina answered quietly.

"We've known each other for two years." Kafka responded. Hoshina still hadn't made a move, only crossed his arms defensively.

"YOU'VE BEEN FLIRTING WITH ME SINCE WE MET?" Kafka shouted as he made the realization.

"To be fair, I don't flirt like a normal person and you clearly can't read context clues." Hoshina said as he finally regained some control over his mouth. He just wished he had better control over what it said.

"Why didn't you say anything before now?" Kafka sounded incredulous at the thought of how he could have been dating the most amazing person on base before now, had be been able to read between the lines.

" I kept thinking it was funny?" Hoshina responded in a shy, quivering voice as more blood rushed to his face and made it redder.

"Okay, now I have to ask. What about me do you like? Do you think I'm handsome, or do you really just like to think I'm funny?" Kafka questioned as he waved his hands around animatedly.

"Honestly? I just really like that you're funny." Hoshina said as he relaxed and playfully shrugged. Now feeling better about having all of this out in the open.

" So, just, fuck my face then." Kafka said in a sarcastically irritated manner while turning around and waving his arms.

"I would if you'd stop talking." Hoshina accidentally let slip.

He wasn't ashamed of saying it, but probably should have found a better time to say it. It didn't seem to matter anyway as Kafka took a second to stop his flailing and slowly turned around to face his commander again. A sly smile tugged at the corner of his lips as his eyes darkened at the play on words they stumbled into.

"Well alright then." Kafka chuckled darkly as he strode over to where Hoshina was still standing. He grabbed his legs and threw him over his shoulder, holding onto Hoshina's calves for dear life as he carried his thrashing lover out of the gym.

"Wha-what do you think you're doing?" Hoshina cried as he tried to look back at his kidnapper. Kafka returned the most intensely flirtatious side-eye back at him as they walked out of the gym.

"Moving training to your place, so you can properly shut me up."

"Wha-what, no dinner first?" Hoshina stuttered nervously as he continued to be paraded down the hall on Kafka's shoulder. He got even more nervous as Okonogi slid past his line of sight and watched them walk away.

"You've been flirting with me for two years. Dinner can wait." Kafka growled as the other hand came up and audibly smacked Hoshina on the ass.

#I consider myself impressed that I managed to come up with four different words to substitute wh*re..#I like to think that both Soichiro and their mother are fluent in “Fighting as a Love Language terminology”#i.e. Fighting back to back against each other means you two are fated soul mates #and carrying someone off the battlefield means you're married #so when the two of them saw the news footage of Hoshina being carried to the ambulance they FREAKED.#Their mother immediately commissioned Soichiro to visit his brother and instigate the two of them getting together.#Soichiro did it without hesitation and was the one to put decaf in the coffee machine as a ploy.#I was going to write an after credit scene Of Soichiro talking to their mother where that was revealed #but I thought this was going to get done in a day like my last one and it didn't #so now I feel like I've worked on this longer than I should have.#their argument feels so British coded when I read it in my head for some reason.#it doesn't help that Hoshina starts off by calling his brother a “Salacious Cur”#It f*cking sucked writing the argument too because I can't not call Soshiro by his last name (It feel wrong to me for some reason)#But he's talking to his brother that has his last name so now I HAVE to use their first name #and what the f*ck is the name SOICHIRO anyway?!?!!?#I still had way too much fun finding subtle ways of making him come across as flirty.#Long post #short story #fanfiction #kaiju 8 #kaiju no. 8 #kaiju number 8 #kafka hibino #soshiro hoshina #Kafhoshi #hoshikaf #kaijuu number 8 #kaiju no.8 #kaiju no 8 #kaijuu 8 gou

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charlottedabookworm · 2 years ago

Note

for the and I didn't like the ending: perhaps a 5+1 thing of the people around Art!Aegon noticing how touch starved/messed up he is? like the failed hug scene with Leanor.

Alternatively, the moment where Viserys suddenly becomes viscerally aware that his son only cares about him in a "professional" sense tied to his identity as king and Aegons "responsibilities" as a prince but could not give any less of a fuck about him personally.

this maybe got away from me a little lol

also i have no idea how coherent this is but it's officially Late here so I'm going to bed enjoy people realising that actually egg might be thought starved the poor boy he's still running away for most of this

(0)

The thing is-

The thing is that now Egg has noticed, he cannot stop noticing.

The thing is that once, so long ago that his breath catches in his lungs, he'd been raised with a dozen sisters who would run their fingers through his hair of a night. He'd had rough hands curl around his arms daily as he'd trained with George and the boys, and he'd pressed shoulder to knee with Wet Stick and Back Lack in narrow alleys as they'd hidden from nobles with lighter pockets.

Once, a lifetime ago, Art had had Tristan's arm slung around his shoulders as they both laughed. He'd had Blue's tiny body curled at his side of a night, his nephew-son ever-haunted by his father's death. He'd had his sisters and his knights and the Mage rolling her eyes at it all even as she shouldered past him to deal with whatever it was he was being a baby about.

Once.

He hadn't noticed.

But Helaena does not like touch and he is used to this, he can understand it, and Aemond has already deemed himself too old for the casual touches of childhood. His nephews are affectionate, yet never with him, and it leaves a lump in his throat. His father... he does not think his father has held him since he still toddled.

And Egg has never been his mother's favoured child, even when he was her only child.

(How hadn't he noticed?)

Cold flame licks at his shoulders and his chest aches as he remembers the warmth of Ser Laenor's arm. The burning-scalding-warmth of another's touch and he-

Aegon aches.

It aches.

(When is the last time he touched someone outside of the training yard?)

It burns and-

He presses himself into the corner of his rooms, walls tight against his shoulders, and wraps his arms around his knees in a bare semblance of a hug.

It's cold.

(1)

"Like this, Jace."

He frowns, teeth tugging at his lips even as he allowed his uncle to prod his limbs into place with quick, there-and-gone touches. "It feels odd."

Qȳbor Egg grins. "It will, but-" his uncle pokes him in the chest, pushing against him in a way that would have seen him falling before, and then pulling away. "See?"

His eyes widen. "I see," he says, nodding, even as he glances down at his feet. They don't look that different, so how-

"Prince Aegon!"

He flinches, ducking his head as Ser Criston Cole's voice barks across the courtyard.

Egg rolls his eyes, but stands straight nonetheless, his grin fading as he walks towards the knight.

Jace's frown widens as he watches his uncle walk away.

"We should hug him," his brother says, curling into his side the way he always does, and he can hear the matching frown in his words. "He looks sad."

Aegon always looks sad, Jace thinks, even when he's happy. Instead, he shakes his head and curls his arm around his brother. "Qȳbor doesn't like hugs," he reminds his brother. He wishes he did.

He doesn't like that he's so sad when there's nothing they can do to help.

"I know," Luke says, mournful, and his fingers tangle in the tail of his tunic in the same way he does with muña. "He's like Hel so we're not allowed to hug him unless he hugs us first."

His brother sounds about as happy with it as Jace feels.

Their uncle really looks like he needs a hug.

"Come on, valonqar. Let's go and find kepa, maybe he'll let us ride on Seasmoke with him."

(2)

"Aegon!"

His goodbrother blinks at him. "Ser Laenor?"

He winces, clasping his hand to his chest theatrically in the way that always has Rhaenyra and their boys smiling. "Come, cousin," he continues in Valyrian as the boy's lips twitch. "Call me Laenor, if I can convince you of nothing else."

"Oh?"

The raised brow and sharp look that Aegon gives him is so Rhaenyra that he could laugh. Instead, he places his best encouraging smile upon his lips and moves slowly closer. "The boys are begging for us to spar again, this time when they can watch."

Aegon pauses.

Something that Laenor recognises but cannot name flickers across his eyes, leaving him with the sinking feeling of diving deep on Seasmokes back, fires flaring on the beach below, the wind whirling around them as they fall-

"Qȳbranna?" He reaches out, slowly, resting a hand on the boy's shoulder.

His goodbrother flinches.

It is the barest of movements, undetectable but for the fact that Laenor can feel it, and he opens his mouth-

"Well, Leanor," Aegon says, clapping him on the shoulder and moving away swiftly. A smile on his lips like he hadn't- "We cannot leave Jace and Luke waiting."

Seasmoke roars distantly in his ears.

Mayhaps, Aegon is simply like Helaena, in that they both abhor unwanted touch. It would not be uncommon, after all. Perhaps Aegon simply dislikes touch that he does not initiate.

Watching his cousins' hands shake subtly, remembering the barest of instants where his goodbrother had leaned into the touch before pulling away, Leanor doesn't think so.

(3)

The words leave his lips as soon he thinks of them.

"Is Aegon angry with me?"

Helaena turns, her eyes clear and sharp, and the confusion is so clear upon her face that he relaxes before she speaks. "Why would Aegon be angry with you?"

Aemond slumps in his seat. "I do not know," he says carefully, sounding each of the words out like how Mother says he must. A Prince must not mispronounce his words or one would think him a simpleton. "He simply-"

"Valonqar."

"He doesn't hug me anymore," he bursts out, too loud and too angry and Mother will be so disappointed. Egg already is disappointed in him because: "I know I shouldn't have said that about Jace and Luke and I apologised to them but lēkia is still mad at me and-"

Gentle fingers wrap around his wrist.

He freezes.

Helaena squeezes gently, her hand a grounding brand of heat, before she pulls away. "Aemond, valonqar - Aegon is not angry with you, I swear."

He isn't? Then- "Why doesn't he hug me anymore?"

His mandia's eyes flicker closed and she looks like Father does, when something reminds him of the old Queen.

"If you ask him for a hug, he would be glad to give you one," is all she says, though.

All he has to do is ask?

(But Mother has said he's too old to be asking his brother for hugs, Aegon has duties after all, he doesn't have the time to be pandering to him anymore)

"If I ask, Aegon will hug me again?" The words feel small on his tongue. Wrong. He shouldn't need to-

"I promise"

(4)

The temperature in King's Landing may never reach as bitterly cold as it does in Harrenhall, but the storms are something that Harwin has yet to become used to.

Within less than a candle's width of time, clear skies have turned black with an endless downpouring that turns packed mud into slippery pits. Harwin feels nothing but relief when he calls the rest of the training session off, desperate to be both warm and dry once more, when he notices a figure that hasn't joined the rush to leave.

"Your Highness?"

Prince Aegon startles and slips in the sludge beneath their feet.

He winces. "Sorry, my Prince," Harwin says, reaching down to help the mud-covered boy to his feet.

The Prince eyes him, gaze flickering from his hand to his stance, and then takes a bracing breath that has his eyes narrowing slightly.

Laenor had mentioned something about this, had he not-

And then Harwin is pulling the Prince to his feet, holding firm until the boy has his feet beneath him just as he would for any of the younger Princes.

"My thanks, Ser Harwin," Prince Aegon says and his gaze is still fixed on his hand. There's a rough edge to his voice, like Luke after a nightmare, and Harwin-

"My Prince, are you-"

Thunder crackles above them.

Harwin startles and his feet slide beneath him; he releases the prince so the boy does not take a second fall in the mud. For a heartbeat, he flounders, until he finds his legs once more.

When he looks up, Prince Aegon is already halfway to the door.

(+1)

Rhaenyra has never been close to her half-brother.

She hadn't wanted to be when he was younger. Not when he was borne of Alicent and her father's betrayal. Not when Aegon lived when so many of Rhaenyra's other siblings didn't - not even Baelon, who was so small, who her mother had died for, who had died anyway. She had burnt her brother's pyre, Rhaenyra had thought all those years ago, and she had no need for another.

She had been a grieving child, angry at the world and those who should have known better, and she had taken it out upon the children by simply ignoring them.

She has been trying to be better, now, because her sons inspire her to be better, and her siblings deserve better. Aemma Arynn had died trying to give her father a son and the man hardly acknowledged him. Any of them. And Alicent-

Her childhood friend had always thought their customs queer. And now all of her children are so obviously Valyrian, with all those same queer customs...

No, her siblings deserve better. She has much to make up for and there is much she can never make up for.

Laenor and Harwin- she loves them, but men can be dense at times. They've discussed their meetings with Aegon, his odd reactions to touch, and both men recognise it is different to Helaena but they do not understand.

Rhaenyra does not wish them to.

They do not see what she does in Aegon and that is, perhaps, a good thing. Their boys do not see it either, only that their qȳbor is not fond of hugs, and Rhaenyra loves that they do not know this feeling.

It is memories of a time long past that have her gathering her heaviest cloak, one that has not seen use since her marriage, before she wanders the halls of the Red Keep to find her errant valonqar.

"Aegon," she murmurs as she finds him, staring out at King's Landing proper.

"Mandia?" He turns and-

She drapes the cloak upon his shoulders with a solid thud, watching with amusement as his eyes widen and he stumbles with the weight of it. Her lips twitch.

Her fingers clasp the cloak closed carefully.

"I have a cloak already?" Her brother asks, his face twisted in the same confused expression that Jace uses.

Rhaenyra stands beside him, a fingerwidth away, and stares out at King's Landing as he was. "None so heavy as this one," she says with quiet assurance. The only winter since Aegon had been born had been a mild and short one, even his winter clothes were light. "The weight may help."

He falls silent.

"You- I-"

"Tell me of my sons' lessons."

Aegon does.

(And if he ends up drifting closer, until their shoulders barely brush, until he can lean into her just the smallest amount-

there is no one but the two of them on this covered rampart to know it)

#and i didn't like the ending verse #my fic #didn't expect this to go like it did #but i was thinking that actually rhaenyra probably didn't have much interaction outside of maids n stuff #for a good year or two #what with her best n only close friend marrying her father her brother being born a #and then daemon going off to war and rhaenyra having to go on her husband hunt #she definitely knows how it feels to be a little skin hungry #aegon's situation is different obvs but she relates best of any of them (cos helaena knows but isn't comfy doing anything cos touch)#anyway rhae/laenor/harwin are one big poly coparenting mess that gets even messier when daemon/laena come back to kings landing #ask #hotd #legend of the sword #thiefinwhite

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