𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕪 𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕥

SETTINGS.

[01.] finding privacy in a cramped dressing room.

[02.] cramming into the backseat of a car together.

[03.] slipping into the lonesome alleyway behind the bar for "time alone".

[04.] pulling them away from a party after hours of relentless teasing.

[05.] getting handsy under the table at a fancy dining establishment.

[06.] taking the long way home and pulling over on a dark stretch of road.

[07.] staying behind at the venue after everyone else has left.

[08.] the hotel room door barely clicks shut before hands are on them.

[09.] a tent in the middle of nowhere where no one can hear anything.

NEW TERRITORY.

[10.] finding yourself staring at their mouth and getting caught.

[11.] pulling back from a kiss to look at them, then immediately going back in.

[12.] memorizing the shape of them for the first time with your palms.

[13.] that exploratory first kiss, reserved and shy.

[14.] a gentle first kiss that morphs into intense want.

[15.] feeling the shape of their body through their clothes.

[16.] asking for permission to remove one of their garments.

[17.] finally succumbing to the thick tension & colliding feverishly.

[18.] fumbling with buttons or zippers because your hands won't stop shaking.

[19.] admitting out loud that you've been thinking about this for a while.

HEATING UP.

[20.] pulling them into your lap in the midst of a heated kiss.

[21.] discovering that they're wearing [ GEAR / LINGERIE ] under their clothes.

[22.] kissing away from their lips, down the length of their neck.

[23.] desperately grinding on them through layers of clothing.

[24.] dirty talking directly into their ear to turn them on even further.

[25.] pushing them onto a piece of furniture before straddling them.

[26.] lifting them onto the countertop while making out.

[27.] tugging their hair to expose more of their throat to your mouth.

[28.] the wrecked way they say your name for the first time.

[29.] fabric tearing because neither of you has the patience for buttons.

[30.] removing an obstacle of clothing with your teeth.

UNRAVELING.

[31.] biting down on their shoulder to muffle how good it feels.

[32.] the sound they make when you find the spot that undoes them.

[33.] begging without any trace of pride left and meaning every word.

[34.] their composure cracking for the first time, they finally stop holding back.

[35.] repeating "don't stop" like it's the only language left in their mouth.

[36.] leaving possessive marks in places only they'll see.

[37.] whispering "look at me" right before you take them apart.

[38.] trying to be quiet and failing, so they clamp a hand over your mouth.

[39.] flipping positions so fast neither of you remembers who initiated it.

[40.] their nails dragging down your back hard enough to sting later.

[41.] being told to open your mouth and doing it before the sentence is finished.

[42.] having your hands pinned above your head.

[43.] the desperate scramble to get closer when there is no closer to get.

COMING DOWN.

[44.] fingers lazily tracing the marks they just left on your skin.

[45.] pulling the blanket over both of you without being asked.

[46.] that silent, dazed smile when they catch your eye across the pillow.

[47.] the shaky laugh when neither of you can remember where your shirt is.

[48.] going to get water and bringing a glass back for them without asking.

[49.] lying chest to chest, feeling their heartbeat slow back down against yours.

[50.] the quiet "hey" that means something completely different now.

[51.] "come here" said softly — not urgently. just wanting them close again.

One of the best things about coming to visit her grandparents, Vaella thinks, is the extra option for whose bed to sneak into when she decides she does not want to sleep alone. It hadn't been difficult, padding across the corridor to her grandparents' room and clambering up onto the bed, snuggling down between the two of them. Grandpa is still fast asleep, but grandma wakes, and Vaella grins toothily as their noses are rubbed together. The storm rages outside, but in here it is warm and safe and she can snuggle close underneath the blankets quite contentedly.

The little girl's amusement thrilled Dyanna, and she had to clap a hand over her own mouth to stop herself from laughing aloud and waking Maekar up. "I think he might just be, my love," Dyanna whispered back, before hugging the girl close. "There's nothing to fear our there, little one. You're safe with us, and thunder is no frightening thing, really."

"My brother used to tell me tales of thunder to make it less scary, you know," she recalled, thinking back to her youth. "Oh, I can scarce remember the tales now, but I wonder if I can conjure one up for you... "

"Hmmm", Rhae hummed, thinking intently on a fitting name for her mother's mount. "The Valyrian word for purple doesn't make a good name", she mused, thinking of everything of that color to find a name fitting for a dragon and her mother. "Perhaps Vēzendio? It means sunset and when the sun vanishes into the ocean, but it isn't properly dark yet, the sky has the violet color of your eyes, mama. Not quite black, or blue, but darkest violet." Her little hand reaches out and strokes her mother's cheek affectionately, briefly expecting her eyes to be sure she is right. Rhae's own eyes are much lighter, leaning more towards lavender, but she loves her mother's darker hues.

When Dyanna inquires about the North, Rhae sighs deeply, shaking her head. "It's a long story, but the wall fell down on a troll and then the troll destroyed Winterfell and then the North was angry that King Aegon did not protect them from the trolls, so they rebelled. Aegon insisted he is King, but next time I get to be queen. I am Queen consort, though, so we have to protect the realm together. We are the only dragon riders left, you know." The little girl shrugged seriously, before giggling because her mother was tickling her. "You can conquer with us, if you'd like. Daella didn't want to, but Daeron agreed to be the troll." Technically, Daeron had only agreed to being a stationary prop in their play, but Rhae would talk him into being a troll, she knew that.

"What a thoughtful name you've come up with, my little love," Dyanna mused, and looked over her daughter's face lovingly as she inspected her mother's eyes. "I think Vēzendio is a beautiful name, and your Valyrian sounds so beautiful too, my darling." It was a never-ending marvel to her, how her children grew and learned and developed. She was fiercely proud of all of them.

The tale of the North, however, broke her reverie and she laughed happily as the saga was relayed to her. "My gods, what trouble the king and queen must deal with!" she cried aloud, smiling but eyes rapt with attention. "To look after your dragons, to put down trouble in the North, and to fight your troll of a brother," she giggled. "Mayhaps I may come along and help, astride Vēzendio," she winked. "And if kepa is not so busy, I have no doubt he would enjoy to see his two little ones being such firm rulers. Perhaps you two will be the next hammer and anvil."

a mix of arguments, tension, manipulation, gossiping, fighting, & general emotional messiness!

you  weren't  supposed  to  hear  that.

don't  look  at  me  like  i'm  the  only  one  lying.

want  to  tell  them,  or  should  i?

you  think  i  don't  know  what  you  did?

i've  hit  people  for  less.

oh,  i  thought  you  already  knew.

that's  funny,  you  didn't  say  that  last  night.

say  that  again.  i  dare  you.

you  wanna  talk  about  loyalty?

no  offense,  but  if  you're  the  last  to  know,  that's  on  you.

go  ahead  -  pretend  like  it  wasn't  your  idea!

they  deserve  to  know  the  truth.

you  didn't  hear  this  from  me,  but  -

oh,  so  now  you  care?

don't  flatter  yourself.  you  were  just  convenient.

you  crossed  a  line.

we  had  bets  on  how  long  it  would  last.

it's  not  even  a  secret  anymore.

you  don't  get  to  cry  about  it  now.

touch  me  again  and  see  what  happens.

say  it  again.  louder  this  time.

you  really  thought  nobody  would  find  out?

don't  act  so  innocent.

okay,  but  am  i  the  villain  for  laughing?

tell  me  who  else  knows.  right  now.

this  whole  time,  and  you  didn't  say  a  word?

don't  act  brave  now.

you're  really  gonna  do  this  here?

it  wasn't  supposed  to  get  this  far!

you  can't  rewrite  history.

oh,  i'd  never  say  it  to  their  faces.

it  was  supposed  to  stay  between  us.

we're  all  thinking  it,  i  just  said  it.

you're  not  as  untouchable  as  you  act.

do  you  even  feel  guilty?

they  warned  me  about  you.

go  ahead,  make  it  worse.

if  you  repeat  this,  i'll  deny  everything.

the  next  thing  out  of  your  mouth  better  be  an  apology.

you're  about  three  seconds  away  from  regretting  this.

you  keep  pushing,  and  i'll  push  you  back.

they're  going  to  find  out.

one  more  lie,  and  i  walk.

they're  lying  to  you.

you  need  to  back  off.  now.

you're  defending  them?  after  everything?

don't  try  to  hide  it.

tell  me,  was  i  just  a  placeholder?

you  really  think  sorry  fixes  this?

there's  nothing  left  to  say.

don't  act  like  you're  the  one  hurting.

i  don't  owe  you  any  explanation.

whatever  helps  you  sleep  at  night.

you  should've  seen  this  coming.

i  hope  it  was  worth  it.

i  told  the  truth.  just  not  all  of  it.

you'll  miss  me  before  i  miss  you.

smile.  you're  ruining  the  mood.

i'd  watch  that  tone  if  i  were  you.

it's  not  my  fault  you  believed  me.

you  have  such  a  talent  for  pretending  you're  innocent.

we  both  know  this  is  over.

i  never  said  i  was  a  good  person.

Of course Aerion is not at risk. Perhaps that is part of the problem, that he has seldom seen any sort of real consequence for his brutish actions. He has developed a dangerous ego, convinced that nothing and no one can touch him, and Daeron fears where such a delusion may lead him. Their family may be royalty, but they are far from untouchable, and if he continues sowing such discord, there will be no good end to whatever will occur, he is near sure of it.

His mother's gaze turns to him, disapproval in her voice and Daeron freezes, inwardly cursing. In his defence, he had panicked when faced with his father's wrath, made up a lie to cover for himself. He hadn't expected anything to come of it, and had half hoped Egg would cover for him. Pretend there was some other giant kidnapper perhaps and that his hedge knight had rescued him from them. But apparently not. He will take the blame for that admittedly, looking down and grimacing.

Reminders of how heavily Daeron drank rarely did Dyanna any favours. But she knows the reason. It is not merely for the sake of being drunk or a hedonist or simply a lout, but to escape the weight that the dragon dreams place upon his young shoulders. She had stayed awake through countless nights with him, counselling him and soothing him, but while that worked for a boy of ten, a man of nine-and-ten had different ways of coping.

"You have dreamed of him," she repeated, knowing that was unlikely to mean anything good. "I must know about this man, Daeron. On one hand, your brother seems to idolise him after so short a time. We've tried to placate him by telling him we'll find another knight for him to squire for, but he will have none of it. But on the other, he had either the audacity or the stupidity to punch and kick a prince of the blood. Your father says he thinks him an idiot, but he says that of mostly everyone, so I know not what to believe."