Summary-ish: I thought there wasn’t going to be much smut in this one… turns out I was really, really wrong and these two are impossible to control. So dragons and a good bit of smut.
Notes: Now everyone knows my headcanon that he has never had sex with anyone but Helaena. Also I will never NOT say silver hair.
Lastly, he talks like this cuz he said ’twas, okay? He’s very proper and will properly fuck people up *after* using ’twas and ’tis.
Aemond sat watching her. He was more relaxed than he had been in some time. He almost smiled. Helaena was absorbed in her book but couldn’t sit still. His eye followed her hand as she reached out for a grape or twirled her hair around her finger. He watched as she dangled her foot from the sofa and tapped the toe of her shoe on the flagstone. She was in constant motion. He had barely moved in the last few minutes, only turning his head to look at her. His hands were still, he didn’t fidget. He only sat and watched.
His stillness belied the constant tumult of his thoughts. His thoughts were harder to control than his muscles, than his senses. He rarely wasted thoughts on Aegon but often worried about the politics that his brother ignored. Their half-sister and her brood. ‘How many children could one woman have and by how many men,” he thought. He looked back at the fire to clear his head. He was often ambushed by petty, juvenile thoughts. This was one of the reasons he loved to be with Helena over anyone else. She made such things incredibly unimportant. She didn’t care if he was fast, strong, capable, or a second son. His eye flicked to her, watched her scratch her ankle with the toe of her other shoe, and looked back at the fire.
His brother could hit a vulnerable spot but Aemond would never acknowledge it. He thought Aegon knew more than he wanted people to know. Of course he knew about Aemond and Helaena. But the jibe about a wife actually stuck in Aemond’s side like a thorn and as the days had passed it buried itself deeper. When he let his guard down the thought would creep in, its innuendo making his jaw clench.
His brother had forced him into the brothel at three and ten years. And he had gone into the room with the whore. As far as anyone knew he had "gotten it wet." Aegon had been so crude and cruel that Aemond couldn't stomach it. He would never be like his brother and Aegon's attempts to change him only pushed him further in the opposite direction.
He didn't worry that this made him soft or weak in his brother’s eyes. He wouldn't tell Aegon because he would use it to manipulate him. Aemond knew he would never have a wife, never have children that he knew were his. And he was sure, somehow, Aegon knew he had never been with another woman and likely would not. Aemond would have no violet-eyed bastards running the streets of King’s Landing. His lips twitched up a bit. Well he might have some running the halls of the Red Keep. How could either of them really know? Possibly Helaena knew. Regardless, he loved the children as if they were his own. He paid them far more attention than their father
He willed the thoughts back to the dark corners of his mind. Dwelling on them did not accomplish anything. They still had a few hours of daylight left and he knew of only two things that could clear his mind.
“I should like to see Vhagar. Would you like to come with me, sister, and see Dreamfyre?” Aemond asked as he stood. He had startled her when he spoke. She looked at him wide eyed but smiling. She closed her book.
“Yes!” she was suddenly enthusiastic. “Thank you!” She was seldom aware of her surroundings and went up on her tiptoes to kiss him. He turned his cheek to her. His chest tightened, from the knowledge that there were servants in the room as well as the horrible feeling of rebuffing her. He didn’t want to look at her face. He felt her drop back down on her heels. He walked to the door. She walked a few paces behind him even as they walked down the passageway. Gods, this was frustrating. The Blonde Twat was right: if he had his own wife he could treat her as he saw fit. If that were the case, with the wife of his choosing, she would never bow her head, walk behind him, or have to kiss him on his cheek.
He clenched his fists and slowed his pace. He heard her small footfalls close the distance between them. When she was by his side he touched her back lightly, took two graceful steps behind her, and placed her on his right. He kept his fingertips on the back of her elbow.
“Did I do something wrong, brother?” she was whispering and looking at the floor. His fingers moved reflexively on her arm to comfort her but he stopped as they approached a clot of people. He used this as an opportunity to place his hand on her back to guide her through them as they stepped aside. He left it there momentarily.
“No, love,” he kept his face turned down to her so his whisper could be heard. “I see things, differently than you, but I see things as well.”
She looked up at him, brows knitting together but almost smiling. He supposed he had never phrased it that way to her before. He glanced ahead of them and then looked back at her. He thought her expression held a bit of awe but he shook his head to clear it of that notion. He offered her his hand as they descended the stairs and when they got into the carriage.
The evening sun was low on the horizon when they arrived at the dragonpit. The sky was tinged with a violet that matched her eyes. She had chatted while they made the journey but he was distracted and had watched her lips move more than listened. He rarely wondered, today was the exception, what it would have been like had he not asked Vhagar to accept him. He wouldn’t be the man he was today. Regret didn’t nag at him, only a sense of a path lost to him.
They left the carriage and entered the dragonpit to find only a pair of dragonkeepers. The fewer the people around them the less vigilant he had to be.
“Māzīs, Vagus,” Aemond called, not quite loudly. Come, Vhagar. He needn’t shout at her, she knew he was here. Just as Dreamfyre knew Helaena had arrived. The much smaller dragon moved more swiftly and appeared from the stalls first. Her blue and silver coloring was cast slightly purple from the slanting light from the windows. There was a slight tremor under their feet as Vhagar followed. Head emerging first, she pulled her bulk up the ramp. The violet light was consumed by her dark skin. Aemond felt a thin, proud smile appear on his face.
Vhagar was not beautiful like Dreamfyre or some other dragons but when they had done the things she had done, grown how she had, they wouldn’t be beautiful either. Vhagar’s beauty was in her intimidation, her power, her… scars.
Helaena walked softly and quickly to Dreamfyre. She petted and nuzzled and it looked as if she were greeting her best friend in all the world. Aemond and Vhagar greeted in a very different manner. Even though his heart ached with love and pride, he and the dragon didn’t show affection. She tilted her head at him, looking at him with one eye, she blinked and seemed to nod. He placed his hand just behind her jaw. He rested it there as they gazed into each other’s eye.
He could hear Helaena cooing to Dreamfyre. He adored his sister. She could be so outwardly happy and unselfconscious. Dreamfyre matched her personality perfectly.
Aemond called to a dragonkeeper to begin preparing their saddles. They could saddle Dreamfyre for Helaena but he was the only person he or Vhagar allowed to saddle her. When the dragonkeepers brought the tackle he began the arduous task of harnessing her bulk. He found it meditative and enjoyable but it was an endeavor every time. He preferred riding without a saddle but it was rarely practical.
After both riders were successfully in their saddles Aemond let Dreamfyre lead the way. Not entirely out of courtly courtesy, even the dragonkeepers exited the main pit when Vhagar took wing.
“Sōvēs,” Helaena’s small voice rang out.
Aemond leaned a bit closer to Vhagar’s body and laid a hand on her back. In a deep whisper he offered his command, almost a question to his dancing partner.
Rumbling a reply she raised her massive head and neck. Aemond felt the powerful settling into her hind legs that invariably sent a ripple of excitement through him. The movement on a smaller dragon would have taken less than a second and may not have been noticeable even to its rider. When Vhagar crouched he could feel her muscles tightening, pulling back like a crossbow. It was exhilarating because what happened next always amazed him. He smiled and pushed his thighs tight against her sides.
Vhagar’s haunches coiled back into the crouch, her wings raised in a way that seemed languid, but her first downstroke sent dust billowing from the pit floor. It would have engulfed Dreamfyre. By the second wing beat she was bodily clear of the pit, her tail swept the dirt across the floor and helped her steer away from the pit walls.
Helena and Dreamfyre had reached an impressive altitude but Vhagar overtook them in seconds. Aemond’s heart pounded in his chest.
“Kirimvose,” he said just above a whisper though he knew Vhagar did not need to hear him. She understood. Thank you.
Dreamfyre’s blue and silver and Helaena’s silver hair were perfect against the purple sky. As much as he wanted to watch them he wanted to unleash Vhagar.
Vhagar’s wings seemed to move slowly because her wingspan was so great. However, each thrust powered her hulking form further than a dragon Dreamfyre’s size could do in three, easily. Aemond’s hair streamed out behind him as she rose. His breath was shallow in the thin air. He closed his eye against the wind and reveled in the absence of control.
Then she dove. She banked slightly as she did, not quite into a roll. The fantastic roar shook through her. Aemond didn’t need to hear it, he could feel it. He heard Dreamfyre to his left, much closer than he expected. He opened his eye, Vhagar had leveled out, and he encouraged her toward Helaena. His sister was smiling in a way that only dragon riders smiled. He smiled back at her though not as fiercely.
Dragonfyre started making a graceful spiral under Vhagar. She tolerated the young dragon’s restlessness. She and Aemond seemed to hang in the air compared to the flitting of Helaena and her dragon. Dreamfyre cried and bellowed her happiness to be in the air and the sounds were tinny and small to Aemond’s ears. They weren’t unpleasant but even Vhagar’s breathing reverberated in a deep melodious rhythm.
The two pair flew until the sun was almost setting. When they headed back to the pit Dreamfyre circled away to let Vhagar land first. The ground shook when she settled in the pit. The smaller dragon floated down as light as a falling leaf in contrast.
The dragonkeepers helped Helaena with her saddle and put both saddles away when they were finished. Vhagar blinked at Aemond and shook her head and neck before lumbering off. Helaena was embracing Dreamfyre as well as she could, her arms flung wide on the dragon’s neck. Dreamfyre’s eyes were half closed.
Aemond always sat across from her in the carriage but this night he took the seat next to her when he stepped in. They both stank of dragon and that scent was hot, heady, and intoxicating for him. They didn’t touch and even Helaena wasn’t chatty. Sitting in peace after their flights was something they both enjoyed. They had a few minutes of privacy before arriving at the Keep. She had folded her hands primly in her lap. He slid one of his under hers, holding them both in his upturned palm.
When they entered the Keep he walked to his rooms without asking her, hoping she would follow. He supposed he would go to supper if she didn’t. No one came to his chambers, people seldom needed him. They would be uninterrupted, no one needing Helaena would look there or admit to thinking to look in his rooms. She followed quietly, dreamily.
He closed and locked the door behind them. Servants had been in to light a few candles after the sun set and Aemond lit a few more. Helaena took her shoes off and walked among his things. She ran her fingers lightly over the backs of chairs, the mantle, a bookshelf. She was listening to something that even he couldn’t hear. He walked over to her as he began to unfasten the clasps on his jerkin. She had her back to him but wasn’t so lost in her world that she was startled when he put his hands on her waist.
“Where are you, sister?” he murmured against her ear.
“Mmmmm….” Helaena thought for a moment. “With Dreamfyre… and you.” She placed a hand on his.
“I feel like I can’t get the clouds out of my head. Or perhaps that’s backward,” she mused. “The sky was lovely and Vhagar is so grand.”
His chest tightened. No one said soft things about Vhagar. Always “terrible” or “vicious” or “powerful” but rarely something kind like “grand.” She took a step away from him and he let his hands fall. She turned to look at him and she moved her hand in a precise way that had become his queue for their ritual. He bowed so she could reach. She unfastened it and took the leather tie as well. The eye patch dropped to the floor from her exquisite fingers and his hair fell around his face.
Aemond walked to her and cupped her face in his hands. When he kissed her she slid a hand into his shirt and felt for his heartbeat. She only rested her hand against him for a moment. She grazed her nails down his chest as she walked toward his bed.
Helaena worked the laces of her dress quickly and stepped out of the pile of fabric she had let drop to her feet. She lay propped on the pillows on his bed in only her chemise. In the candlelight he could see the shadows of her breasts and the dip between her thighs. He clenched his jaw. His breeches were suddenly too tight. He walked to the side of the bed.
Helaena tugged on the cuff of his shirt. He slipped it off his shoulders with a shrug. She took his hand in hers and guided him to lay down next to her. She curled up against him and rested her head on his chest. Her finger drew lazy designs on his chest and he closed his eye.
“I don’t tell them most of what I know,” she mumbled, her lips almost pressed against his chest. “They would be frightened. You don’t frighten, brother. And fear makes people hate.”
She exhaled and her warm breath on his chest sent a shiver down his spine.
“No, never of you,” he replied. “Do you believe nothing scares me?”
His arm tightened around her shoulder, pressing her tighter against him. She slid a leg over one of his. He put his other hand behind his head so he could see her better. She had settled on his left side, perhaps she didn’t want to be seen as she talked but he couldn’t help himself.
“I’m afraid of everything,” she said, barely above a whisper. “Except things that grow and crawl and fly.” Her fingers brushed up his stomach, over his nipples, back down to his hips. “You fly.”
He made a humpf sound. It was immediately followed by a deep sigh as Helaena’s hand began to slip below the waist of his pants. Her fingers grazed the silver hair below his stomach then trailed to his hip and back out again. She moved so slowly he was almost holding his breath. She started to lazily work the buttons of his pants one-handed and he, somehow, managed not to reach down and do it for her. He took a deep breath.
Aemond felt her head move against his chest. She looked up at him with those big violet eyes. She raised up slightly and he leaned forward to kiss her. She worked though the last button and he groaned into her mouth. He had to do something with his hand. He ran it through her hair and down her neck. Her hand moved further down as they kissed.
Helaena propped up on her elbow. Her fingers were so slow and light. He shut his eye tight. She kissed his jaw, his cheek, his scar. He nearly pulled away. The combined sensations were overwhelming. She daintily kissed his nose and hummed to herself happily. Then she did what he feared. She kissed his brow. He did fear some things. He didn’t want her to know that. Helaena was the only person who could touch him there and she had done this once before. She knew he enjoyed the acceptance of who he was but it wasn’t easy. However, it was less difficult with her hand slowly wrapping around him.
Her lips were soft and warm against his scars. He was simultaneously relieved and disappointed when she began kissing his jaw and neck. He slid his hand down her arm and over her hand. She let him move her hand. He rolled onto his side, kissed her, and she slid her leg further between his.
Aemond grabbed her ass and pulled her as close to him as he could. It wasn’t close enough. Her hand moved to the back of his neck, fingers wrapping themselves in his hair. He slid his leg between hers and laid her on her back. He planted his hand by her shoulder, burying his face in her neck. She sighed next to his ear when she felt how hard he was. He involuntarily ground his hips against hers. Her other hand skimmed up his ribs to his back.
His hair flowed over her bare arms as he put his mouth on her nipple. He bit and sucked in spite of the fabric of her chemise. He shifted his weight to his knee and Helaena rocked against his thigh. His hand scrambled from behind her. His fingers slid, hurriedly, through her wetness and into her. Her back arched and she pushed down on his hand.
“You’re so…” he nearly growled into her chest, not able to complete the thought. “Seven hells” rumbled out of him as he curled his fingers inside her. He barely had to move at all. She was pushing so hard against him. He had the fleeting thought ‘did everyone get this way after flying? was it the smell?’ and then it was gone as she dug her nails into his forearm. He straightened up to see her face. Her eyes were closed, her mouth open and panting. He stopped moving and watched her, waiting for her to relax. Then he slowly grazed his thumb over her clit and she shivered. He kissed her as he rubbed gentle circles around it. He felt her tighten on his fingers. It was an exquisite feeling but not the one he really wanted. He was patient.
He let her set the pace, let her guide, and while his fingers followed her lead he kissed her forehead, her cheek, her chest, her breasts, still through that gods damned fabric. He groaned against her, jaw clenched. He tried to focus, to think of something other than how she ground out her pleasure in his hand. His hand.
Aemond felt he almost couldn’t wait any longer but she was so beautiful like this and so far gone. He sat up to kneeling, enjoyed watching her for a beat, then he slid his hand against her belly, under her chemise and over her breasts. He didn’t want to rush just as badly as he did. He grazed his fingers across one hard nipple and she pushed toward his hand. He did what she needed and palmed and kneaded her breast as she arched her back. He could feel his breath hitch and shorten.
Helaena was rarely loud and would often stifle herself if she felt she was going to be. He watched her hand fly to her mouth and she bit down on it. At the same time he felt her tighten and spasm and change her pace. She made languid circles with her hips.
“Gevie,” he said just loud enough for her to hear over her own breathing. Beautiful.
The final waves rolled over her body and she began to still. When she finally opened her eyes and looked at him he slid his fingers out and leaned over her to kiss her. She smiled up at him. She kissed him hard. As she did he felt her legs move. She had, gracefully, moved so that he was kneeling between her legs, not straddling one. He smiled, lips hovering just above hers, and his violet eye glinted in the candlelight. He dipped his head and grazed his lips across her, barely touching.
She smiled too but because she had hooked a toe in his pants and was trying to push them off. Her arms were too short to reach while they were kissing. He tried not to laugh at her, and succeeded, but his dimples gave away his amusement. She was determined. He kissed her quickly then assisted her.
Helaena’s expression shifted slightly and she cupped his face in her hands before he entered her. Her eyes stared at his mouth then drifted up to his eye then over to his scar. He waited. She nodded and kissed him. She knew something he couldn’t in this moment and he trusted her but he couldn’t try to discern it now. She wrapped her legs around his hips as he slid into her. Her hands drifted back from his face into his hair and she let out a load moan.
He pressed their hips together, trying to feel all of her, get closer. He smoothed his hand over her hair, down her neck, and rested it over her left breast. She met each of his thrusts with her own or an arching of her back and he could feel her heart begin to race. He bit his bottom lip as she squeezed around him. He felt a pang of disappointment, then he spilled into her. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders. He let out a sigh as if he had been holding his breath.
He let some of his weight rest on her. She unwrapped herself from him and held him loosely. He took a few breaths. She rubbed her cheek against his. She was almost humming, not with a melody, just contentment. He raised up with a bit of a sigh and kissed her on her forehead and both cheeks. She laughed and kissed him quickly before he lay down next to her.
They lay on their backs near each other, not quite touching. Their hands back to back and her fingers passing gently over his. He glanced over at her. Her face was calm and her eyelids heavy. Aemond’s anger snuck up on him because of that face. She would always have to leave, not sleep in his bed. She looked so peaceful but she would leave soon. He looked up at the canopy above them.
“It’s okay, brother,” she hadn’t turned to look at him. She slid her hand into his and closed her eyes. “I always come back, don’t I?”
He swallowed and squeezed his eye closed.
