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ficsbyuzi · 3 months ago

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All the ways lead to you - part 4

Characters - Aemond Targaryen and Inara Maegyr (OFC) in a modern AU.

Warning: just some fluffy, swoon worthy moments

Word count: 1875

Masterlist

Part 3

A/N - Not proofread or beta read; I just write whatever comes to my mind. Isn’t that what us amateur writers are here for anyway? 🙃

Also, I’m using Mr. Mitchell’s face as Aemond for the first time in the header of my fic. Earlier, I was not in the favor of using an actor’s picture in fan-fictions. But since he too keeps Aemond with him all the time, I thought, why not? Plus this picture fits the story really well. 😩

“AEMOND? AEMOND TARGARYEN? Oh my god, oh my god, Inara, do you know how big of a star he is?”

Inara’s baby sister Nina’s voice echoed through the phone, high-pitched and brimming with excitement.

“Apparently, the whole world knows but me,” Inara responded robotically, rolling her eyes.

“You and your books and your makeup set! I have been begging you to watch some TV, but noooo…”

“Nina, manners.”

Nina apologized airily and quickly switched to her yapping.

“Tell me, did you speak to HIM?"

A smile tugged at the corners of Inara’s lips, which quickly faded as she recalled how Aemond brusquely brushed her off at their first meeting.

“Yeah, I did, but..” Inara couldn’t finish her sentence as gasps and squeals erupting from the phone startled her. She chuckled, flinching and moving the phone away from her ear. She could envision her sister flailing her arms.

“OMG, OMG, OMG, how does he sound? What does he smell like?" Nina bombarded her with inquiries.

"Smell? What? Calm down! He's just another person."

Inara was trying her best to sound composed and nonchalant, but an unbidden blush on her face said otherwise.

Two weeks ago, after the orientation meetings, she told herself that she would watch Aemond's shows objectively, to simply familiarize herself with his work and appreciate his talent as an actor.

But something like a tiny spark of infatuation ignited within her as she watched him on screen. Scene after scene unfolded, each one highlighting Aemond's charisma and irresistible charm. Everything about him fueled that spark - his witty dialogue, the intense romantic scenes with his co-stars, and the way he conveyed every emotion through his eyes.

The more she watched, the more spellbound she got.

And despite her earnest efforts to extinguish the spark, she couldn't. If anything, it grew into a proper flame, now constantly fueled by an anticipation of seeing and working with him every day.

"Are you there? Inara?"

"Yes...yes, I'm here, Nina. You were saying?" She cleared her throat, trying to shake off her daydreams.

God, why is it so difficult to focus these days?

"I was asking if you can get his autograph for me? Please say yes, please, please...pretty please?"

"Okay, okay, I'll try, stop begging." She sighed as more squeals and OMGs came from the other side of the phone.

“You are the best sister in the whole world!”

“Yeah, yeah, now I really need to go to bed. I'll call you later, alright? Love you. Good night."

The thought of navigating a request for an autograph swirled in her head as she prepared for bed.

Hours passed and her mind refused to shut down. Sleep seemed to elude her. Nerve-wracking thoughts of her first day at the shoot kept intertwining with the thrilling anticipation of meeting Aemond, making it impossible for her to catch even a second of rest.

After hours of staring at the ceiling and tossing and turning in bed, Inara finally succumbed to her restlessness. A refreshing shower and a mug of her strongest coffee later, she was on her way to the Red Keep studios. As the rosy, dawn rays peeked through the gray sky, she arrived on set, making her way to the makeup trailer.

She found Margaery, already setting up the workstations. Just when she got to know a slight change in her duties, which now appointed her to Aemond's makeup and costume exclusively, he returned to the trailer with two coffee cups in his hands.

Her insides somersaulted the moment her eyes met his.

A baggy gray tracksuit covered his lean frame, hiding all the musculature. His short, platinum hair - slightly tousled today, starkly contrasted the well-groomed hair she was used to seeing. Even in plain clothes, he looked every bit a royal prince.

"I thought you guys might need a cuppa. It's going to be a long day," he said with an impassive face, handing over the cup to Inara.

And there it was.

That unsought, uninvited feeling in her core that kept resurfacing at the sound of his deep, velvety voice.

A warm, tingling sensation that traveled all the way up to her face, suffusing her golden skin with a tinge of pink.

For a moment, she couldn't believe that the same Aemond, a big star, who snubbed her the other day, now stood before her with an arm outstretched, offering a cup of coffee to her.

"Thank you," she replied in a timid voice, forcing her lips not to curve into a smile but her eyes gave her away.

But when she got only a nonchalant hum in response, that smile from her eyes died too.

Gosh, why is he like this?

Staying quiet, she schooled her features into neutrality while her senior took charge of most of the work. However, each time she assisted in adjusting Aemond's costume or blending the makeup on his face, she could feel his gaze fixed upon her.

As she watched him walk out of the trailer, all primped for his shot, she released a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.

"Are you okay?" Margaery asked, breaking her focus from the trailer's door.

"I... yeah," she lied, rubbing a finger on her temple and removing her apron.

"I'm fine, just tired.”

She was lying to herself too, stifling the novel feelings growing inside her. Scolding herself for letting her focus waver over a silly celebrity crush.

Margaery chuckled in response, leaving Inara to wonder if she could see through her façade.

Over the next few days, Inara settled into the rhythm of her life in the new city.

And yet, every day when Aemond walked into the make-up trailer, the air inside the room shifted for her, making her nerves fly all over the place.

He wouldn't smile or say anything to her, but she would feel his eyes burn a hole into her face the entire time he sat there.

Everyday, she tried her best not to be intimidated, but her hands betrayed her nervousness, and Margeary would have to step in to correct her flimsy work on Aemond’s face.

She often wondered if he would fire her because of her jittery inefficiency.

And while she struggled to maintain her calm around her, it didn’t escape her notice that whenever a scene was cut or there was a break in filming for touch-ups, Aemond's eyes would seek her out.

“I'm reading too much into things,” a sane voice would counter in her head, reminding herself that everything was strictly professional: an amicable rapport between an employee and employer.

He seeks me out for touch-ups. Yeah, that’s all.

Whatever her unease was, it still was not enough to loosen the pull she felt toward him.

Every day, she found herself drawn to him, discovering a new trait and adding to her understanding of who he was.

Cold, yet inviting. Mysterious, yet an open book for all to read. Quiet, and yet his eyes told a story she was unable to decipher.

As if I could ever..

When Margaery called in sick one day, Inara was left solely in charge of the entire makeup session, including on-set touch-ups. The thought of being alone in the makeup trailer with Aemond sent her heart scrambling for composure.

The door of the trailer opened and she practically jumped.

"Dr. Maegyr,” he nodded in acknowledgment.

"Umm..Margaery is not here today, just me. " Inara informed, fiddling with her apron, as she noticed Aemond looking around for Margaery.

A sudden glint appeared in his violet eyes, with a subtle smile gracing his lips.

Did he just smile? At me?

However, the moment the question popped up in her mind, she saw his eyebrows furrow, his expressions turning to one of unsurety and concern.

"Uh..she..called in sick." Fumbling for words, she gestured towards the makeup chair in front of the mirror, asking him to sit. "I spoke to her and prescribed some medication. I'll try my best to finish the look on time. Shall we begin?"

“Hmm.”

As Inara worked on his makeup and prosthetic, her brush slipped, smudging the final touches. She gasped, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment. Reflexively, in an attempt to quickly correct her mistake, she used her finger tips instead of the brush.

Aemond’s eyes flew open at the unexpected touch.

Oh no..no no..

"I'm so sorry," she murmured, her hands shaking, “I did not mean to,” she jerked her hand away from his face.

Aemond noticed her unease, his piercing gaze softening just a fraction. "Are you okay?"

"I... yeah, I... I'm fine," she replied, her voice wavering as she fumbled to find something on the counter, her mind in a whirl.

As she turned to face him again, a commotion erupted outside the trailer. Without warning, Aemond swiftly rose from his seat, towering over her and unintentionally trapping her in a corner against the makeup counter.

What in the..

Inara steadied herself, placing a hand on the counter.

Aemond’s sudden proximity left her breath trapped in her throat. The scent of his leather costume, mingling with his own essence, enveloped her.

Her last coherent thought was of how he always carried a faint scent of coffee and cigarettes, before her mind went numb, abandoning her wildly thumping heart to interpret the torrent of sensations within.

Her eyes remained stubbornly locked with his as she fought the urge to flutter them shut.

Inara watched as his stolid, ethereal Valyrian features softened in slight amusement.

She could feel his exterior guard cracking too, when he placed an arm over her head on the mirror and leaned closer.

Oh God.

“We all make mistakes,” he spoke in a tone she thought she was sure she only heard in a scene of one of his romantic movies

A silky whisper that reverberated through her, sending delicious waves all over.

“There’s nothing to be afraid of,” His other hand moved and stopped near Inara’s hand on the counter.

For a moment, she wondered if her heart now joined the stuck breath in her throat.

“Please don’t fire me,” Inara finally breathed out, still unsure if she had spoken the words aloud or if they were just a regular alarm of anxiety in her head.

Only when Aemond replied, “And why would I let you go, Inara,” dropping his voice to a low murmur and shifting his gaze to her lips, did she realize that she had spoken her thought aloud.

The noise of the hustle and bustle outside began to die down, as Aemond straightened up. Moving away from her, his fingers brushed against her hand, his lips curling into a tender smile.

“I should get going... Are we done here?” His usual business tone was back in a blink of an eye, nudging Inara out of her dream-like daze.

Done? Done with what?

“Yeah... sure... we... we’re done,” she stammered, her gaze shifting from his lips to the floor.

As she watched him walk away from her swiftly, sanity flickered back into her mind.

The moment he stepped out of the door, her knees turned into rubber. She placed one hand on her chest, gripping the counter harder from the other, trying to anchor herself into the physical reality.

What the hell just happened?

The rest of her day slipped by in a blur. Thoughts of what happened in the trailer lingered around her, all the time, teasing her. Caressing her.

It was only when she lay on her bed at night that Aemond’s words resonated in her half asleep mind. Words which she barely registered when he stood so close and the heat of his body seeped into her, tingling each cell of her body.

The same warmth now returned with the memory of his fingers briefly brushing her hand on the counter.

She could almost hear those words in his low, gravely voice -

“And why would I let you go, Inara?”

-x-

Part 5

Taglist: @zenka69