Nights of Endless Love Part 26
A fic set in Vegas in 1971 at the start of Elvis' first residency that year, where he meets a Vegas showgirl who isn't interested. Smutty, fluffy, angsty drama.
To catch up with the other parts, go here. As always, thanks go to @vintagepresley for the idea in the first place and continued inspo! And many thanks to @eapep for her editing skills!
18 and over only.
Pairing: Elvis + OC - Mia, a Vegas showgirl
Wordcount: 3.3K ish
TW: Drug abuse, health issues, angry!Elvis, a little bit of violence, crying, oral (f receiving), then much fluff.
A/N: This is the final part! I fully sobbed when I finished writing this. It's been a real labour of love and I will miss Mia and Elvis and their little world. Not to say that we might not go back and see how they're doing from time to time, but for now this is the end of their story.
“I’m so tired. Elvis this schedule is impossible.” Mia collapses down onto the sofa, still in her stage outfit. They’re more than half way through the stint in Tahoe, and she only has a two hour break before she’s due back on stage again. Things have got worse since she started going on with him to do a song or two in the middle of his set.
“It’s not impossible. You just need one of these shots,” he looks over to Dr Nick. “Nick, give her a shot.”
Dr Nick moves warily over to Mia. She pulls a face and puts her hand out to stop him. “Dr Nick do not give her a shot. She has autonomy over her own body.”
Elvis is standing over the other side of the room, still in his jumpsuit, sodden with sweat. One of his legs is jiggling about and he's fiddling incessantly with one of his big rings. Two of the tell-tale signs that Nick had been in here giving him a shot before the second show. As if she didn’t know already.
“Well don’t blame me if you can’t hack it.”
Mia stands up, annoyed now. “If I can’t hack it? You’re the one taking enough pharmaceuticals to floor an elephant.”
Dr Nick moves from foot to foot awkwardly. Mia wasn’t often in the room when he was treating Elvis, but he’d already got the impression she wasn’t keen on all of the drugs. He isn’t keen on all of the drugs either, but Elvis will only find someone else if he stops prescribing. He’s never seen them fight before, and he would like to get out before it turns nasty. He knows Elvis has a temper.
Elvis starts moving towards her in that ominous way he has, his lip curling, blowing furious air out of his nose. “I need them. This is none of your damn business woman.”
“None of my business! I’m only living with you and engaged to marry you!”
“Well maybe you need to learn to do as you’re told.” He grabs one of her arms and starts trying to manoeuvre her towards Nick, who is looking quite alarmed by this point. Mia wriggles and tries to get him off her. She sees his other hand coming to grab her and aims a kick at one of his shins. “Ow!” He almost shrieks. She uses the opportunity to pull her arm free and then slaps him across the face for good measure.
“You are not the boss of me!” She screams.
“You come back here,” he hisses as she stands, panting in front of him.
She thinks that she hasn’t actually gone anywhere and he could grab her from here if he really wanted to.
“I’m not having a damn shot, Elvis. I’m sick of seeing you take all this stuff. I’m sick of waking up in the night and checking if you’re still breathing. I’m sick of worrying about you all the time. I want you to rest,” she finds herself faltering, holding back tears. “I love you.”
He closes the gap between them, and for a moment she can’t tell if he’s going to kiss her or hit her. He pushes her the few steps back it takes to hit the wall, and then his mouth is on hers, his tongue pushing insistently into her mouth, his hands grabbing her arms and pressing them against the wall next to her head. Somewhere that sounds like a million miles away she hears the clunk of the door. Nick must’ve finally had enough.
“Baby I love you too,” he says, when he finally comes up for air. “I’m sorry. Let me make it up to you.”
He starts slowly unzipping her catsuit, kissing her newly exposed skin as he goes. He stops briefly to pay her nipples some attention, but it’s clear where he’s headed, as he presses kisses to her stomach and slides the zipper down all of the way to where it finishes between her legs. She gasps when he first licks her clit, firmly and repeatedly, looking down to see him on his knees in front of her, worshipfully. His tongue dips down lower, tasting her properly, his lips and chin slick with her juices. She whines, desperate for more contact.
“Put your leg on my shoulder baby,” he says, the words buzzing against her.
She does, feeling his fingers spreading her cunt so he can better access it, lapping at her, pushing his tongue inside. His thumb moves to rub her clit as he carries on licking, the fingers of his other hand digging into the skin of her thigh and ass. She moans, grabbing her breasts and rubbing her nipples. She’s so turned on even just at the sight of him kneeling in front of her like this, burying his face in her cunt, licking and sucking like his life depends on it.
He moves to suck on her clit now, looking up at her as he does it, his hair soaked with sweat from the show earlier and her arousal all over his face. He slides a finger inside her and curls it slightly, waiting to hear her reaction. She groans, feeling him hit that spot inside of her and wriggling to try and get more contact from his tongue.
“Hold my head Mimi. Do whatever you want with me.”
She shivers at the words. She loves it when he tells her to use him like this.
“Another finger…please,” she just about manages.
He nods and slips a second finger inside her.
She reaches down and takes hold of his head, fingers digging into his damp hair. She starts to roll her hips so that her clit rubs against his tongue, holding onto him gently and then as the pleasure starts to build she finds herself gripping him desperately, pushing her cunt into his face, not really caring anymore if he can breathe. She’s so close now, all she can think of is reaching that high. As her orgasm washes over her she grips his head even more tightly, crying out and feeling tears falling down her cheeks. She shakes and cries, finally letting him go and sliding down the wall, somehow getting her leg off his shoulder and ending up sitting in a little pile at the bottom of it.
“Fuck, honey.” Elvis is beet red, and he’s taking great gasping breaths.
She looks over at him, and realises she might’ve actually been suffocating him. “Oh shit. Are you alright?”
“Honey. You’re crying.”
Mia laughs, even though she’s still crying. “I’m crying, you’re nearly suffocated, this is all going great.”
He moves to try and kiss her and she holds her hands up in front of her face. “Ahh. Wash your face!”
He laughs and grabs her arms, pinning them to her sides. “No,” he replies, kissing her on the mouth. She can feel the slickness of his lips, covered in her juices, and taste herself on his tongue. “If you’re going to smother me the least you can do is kiss me afterwards.”
She laughs, and then he pulls her into his arms, leaning against the wall himself. “Baby why were you crying? I thought you were enjoying yourself.”
“I just felt overwhelmed. I love you so much and I really want this to work, but it’s just fucking exhausting. I’m sorry I nearly killed you.”
He chuckles into her ear. “It’s okay, I asked for it. In more ways than one. And I love it when you’re so uninhibited like that, especially all over my face.”
She squeals. It smells like sex and sweat all around her. They really need to shower before the next show.
He nuzzles her neck. “I’m sorry about earlier. I shouldn’t have got mad at you. You’re right, we can’t carry on like this. But I don’t know what else to do.”
***
They somehow finish the Tahoe commitment but tell Jerry and the Colonel that there’s no way they can keep up that level of work. It was what they’d suspected would happen, and although the Colonel has his views on how many shows Elvis and Mia should do, for once he keeps his mouth shut. Jerry has been a good influence on him from that perspective. He’s learning how to diversify, has even thought of taking on one or two more clients. Jerry suggests one show a night is more reasonable, tours could be longer but there would be more gaps between dates and fewer residencies. Mia and Elvis both agree, and leave the meeting somewhat relieved.
Mia knows the amount of shows isn’t the only problem though, and so she decides to broach something with Elvis as she watches him rubbing his belly and grimacing.
“What do you think about checking yourself into a hospital?”
Elvis almost jumps. “What? There’s nothing wrong with me!”
Mia puts her hand on top of his. “You’re not in any pain just now?”
He sighs. “Okay, but… hospital?”
“Please. For me. I’ll stay in there with you. We can order in whatever food you want. But I think you need to go and get checked out, and… maybe you need to come off some of what you’ve been taking.”
She’s very nervous about the last part of the sentence. He’s never taken interference in the drugs he takes very well in the past. She had thought she wouldn’t interfere in that part of his life, but the shows at Tahoe showed her that she had to. She watches his face twist into a variety of different expressions, as if he’s having a not-very-internal battle with himself.
“You’ll stay with me the whole time? Even if they want to do things to me? Look for stuff? You’ll be there? You promise?” He’s starting to sound a little panicked, but it seems like the agreeable Elvis has won this time.
“Yes. I won’t let them throw me out of the room. I’ll be there with you the whole time I promise.”
He takes a deep, shuddering breath. “Okay then.”
***
Mia keeps her word. They check into the hospital together and she’s there holding his hand as they do blood tests, check his blood pressure, put drops in his eyes. When they tell him he needs a colonoscopy he looks at her and she tells him it will be okay and she will hold his hands and talk to him the whole time. He nods like a frightened child but does whatever she says. They slowly take him off the complicated mixture of pharmaceuticals he’s been taking since he was in the army, working out exactly what he needs rather than what he wants. Mia stays up a lot of the nights, lying in the bed with him, stroking his hair and wiping his brow as he sweats and twists and turns uncomfortably in his sleep. With the best will in the world, his withdrawal is still horrible and he begs her to let him take something for it, crying in her arms.
A week after they first got there, he’s sat up in bed as she lays dozing after another tumultuous night.
“Hi there.” A voice Mia can’t quite place, deep and sonorous. She tries to ignore it, but Elvis’ response makes that impossible.
“Lawrence! It’s been so long!”
Elvis is feeling good for the first time since he checked into the hospital, and seeing Larry has made him genuinely excited, dropping the book he was reading and sitting up properly in bed. All of this jostles Mia so much she sits up again with a groan.
“How’re you doing, man?” Larry asks, sitting down on the armchair in the room.
“Great. So much better. They’ve taken me off a lot of things and… I do feel good for a change, Larry. They’re bringing me all these fresh fruits and vegetables and Mia is helping me decide which ones I like.”
He looks over at Mia, whose hair is absolutely everywhere, eyes barely open, looking like she needs to sleep for a week. He strokes her face. “Baby, why don’t you go to the room across the hall and get some proper sleep?”
The hospital staff had reserved them another room in case Mia wanted to sleep somewhere separately sometimes, but she hasn’t left his side for the whole week.
“You sure?” She replies, groggily.
“Of course, Angel. Larry can keep me company for a while and you look like you need to sleep somewhere comfy.”
She nods and shuffles off across the corridor.
“I hear you’re getting married?”
Elvis grins. “Yeah. When the divorce is finalised with Cilla, we certainly are.”
“I’m so pleased for you Elvis. Things really seem to be turning out well lately.”
Elvis is beaming. Things were turning out well. He has an idea to make them even better. “Say, you wanna be my best man?”
Larry is taken aback. They hadn’t been in touch much recently, a hair cut here and there and a few chats, but nothing like the intensity of their relationship previously. He’d been wondering if they were just drifting apart.
“I’d be honoured!”
Elvis reaches across to shake the other man’s hand, firmly. “Wonderful. I’m sure Mia will be pleased too.”
***
Mia had never thought she’d be so nervous on her wedding day. What is there to be nervous about? Fluffing up the words? Tripping over her dress and falling on her face? Actually, both of those seem like pretty bad options. She smooths her dress down and looks at herself in the mirror. Life on the road hasn’t exactly stopped the ageing process. If anything, it’s accelerated it. She had her grey hairs dyed back to brown in readiness for today, there’s a lot of strong elastic holding her not-so-little belly in and a face full of make-up hides her tired eyes and wrinkles. But she finds somehow that she doesn’t mind so much any more. Elvis’ hair is still white and he is completely unapologetic about it. He gets his reading glasses out when he needs to and he ignores the jibes from the guys. They worship one another’s bodies, no matter whether they find wrinkles or extra fat there. Elvis is particularly delighted by the fact that she’s put on a little extra weight on her ass, kissing and kneading it at every opportunity. Every morning he tells her how beautiful she is, or sings Mia In The Morning, no matter how many times she hits him with a pillow and tells him to shut up. The tests at the hospital showed that he has a problem with his intestine that makes his belly swell from time to time, and Mia makes sure to show him how much she loves him whenever it happens. He’s given up trying to push her away when she pushes his shirt up and kisses him all over. In fact, he almost looks forward to it.
Mia smiles at her reflection. It had been one helluva year. When she’d started 1971, performing on that stage in the Tropicana, she had no idea things would turn out like this. That she’d be getting ready to marry one of the most famous men in the world. That she’d be so in love with him.
“You ready?” Amanda asks. Mia had to spend an entire drunken day catching her up on everything that had happened over the past couple of months, but she was the only person she wanted as her maid of honour.
“As I’ll ever be.”
Her dad walks into the room, blinking back tears at how beautiful she looks in her dress.
“Time to go, pumpkin?”
Mia nods and takes his arm. Elvis had encouraged her to get back in contact with her parents, so she’d invited them to the show when they visited her hometown. She was surprised when they came, and even more surprised how proud they were of her. She suspects it has something to do with Elvis, who put on the world’s biggest charm-offensive when he met them, and who of course they loved instantly. Her dad was over the moon when she asked him to give her away at the wedding.
She can feel herself shaking as they walk slowly down the aisle to meet the man standing at the end of it. Elvis is shaking too, he’s asked Larry approximately 15 times already whether he still has the rings, and until he saw her for himself a few moments ago, he had completely convinced himself that Mia wasn’t coming. The walk is interminable for both of them, Elvis sweating and worrying about stuttering his vows and Mia concentrating on not falling over her own dress. When she finally gets there and they turn to face one another, holding each other’s hands tightly, they both let out shaky breaths. And then they realise what they’ve done and both giggle. It’s like the rest of the world completely disappears when they look at one another. Until, that is, the celebrant starts to speak.
“In the presence of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we have come together to witness the marriage of Elvis and Mia, to pray for God’s blessing on them, to share their joy and to celebrate their love.”
Despite their fears, the ceremony goes smoothly. Larry hands over the rings. No-one declares a reason they can’t get married, and neither of them mess up their vows. Elvis stutters a little but it just makes Mia love him more, if that were possible. They kiss passionately when they’re told they’re now man and wife, and little Lisa-Marie is the first person to start throwing confetti. Mia briefly wonders if it’s odd to have your husband’s ex-wife as one of your bridesmaids, but then decides she doesn’t care. Priscilla is still such a good friend to her, she’d even helped to pick out Mia’s dress.
The party that follows goes on well into the night. It starts with a first dance to actual Jackie Wilson performing (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher, and sometime around midnight Mia finds herself still in her wedding dress, trying to teach Red West how to rumba.
“Never thought you’d last, you know.” He says into her ear as she tries in vain to get him to stop standing on her feet.
“Oh really?” She laughs back, pushing his hip with hers.
“No. Thought he’d have enough of you being so bossy.”
“You should be concentrating or you won’t get any better.”
Red looks up at her. “I’m not really trying to get better, I’m enjoying you manhandling me if I’m honest.”
Mia bursts out laughing, shoving him back and away from her. “I’ll tell my husband you said that.”
“You’ll tell your husband he said, what?”
Elvis is suddenly behind her, his arms around her waist. She leans back against him and smirks. “Red West is trying to get close to me, husband.”
“Oh, is that so, wife?”
“Hmm yes. But I wouldn’t worry about him, I’m not interested.” She spins around in his arms and puts hers around his neck. “I just feel sorry for him.”
Elvis looks up at her and chuckles, humming with pleasure as she leans her forehead down against his. “He is pathetic, you’re right.”
Red rolls his eyes and huffs, wandering off to find someone else to annoy.
“How is my beautiful wife?” Elvis asks her as they sway back and forth to the music.
“I’ve never been better. How is my handsome husband?”
“I’ve never been happier. Today has been perfect. You’re perfect. I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you.”
“I can’t wait either, lover.”
The band starts playing From A Jack To A King.
From a Jack to a King / From loneliness to a wedding ring / I played an Ace and I won a Queen / And walked away with your heart
***
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I want to teal the bride (6)
6. Haunted castles, freaking trees.
MASTERLIST
Summary: The last shot
Pairings: Aemond Targaryen x BestFriend!Reader
Warnings: cursing, use of “stereotypes”, scottish costumes and practices passed by “Northeners” customs, we are going to kiss many strangers in this chapter, also a tradition,
Aemond wants to steal the bride, so I will put in cheating, dub-con touching (on Aemond by someone else), people drinking heavily, might miss some warnings, but you know what this is about
Wordcount: 7.7 k
Notes: Sorry for the delay, I have all the structure on this one, so it's easy to write! the best part? this is helping me get back into the HOTD fandom, because I’m trying to take the characters but not the awful storyline of the story! so this is helping me get back on the hotd train!
Aegon fanned Aemond’s face as it was clear that the heat was getting to his brother, as he tried to keep everything on him and together, he had his passport and boarding pass in one hand, his man purse in the other as he was trying to grab onto his carry on. As all his friends around him were trying to help him in the entrance to the departure part of the airport.
“What about the dresses?”, Aemond asked Addam
“WPS is delivering them tomorrow morning, I gave you the tracking number”, he said sympathetically, fixing the strap on his man purse that had fallen off, the leather threatening to touch the ground.
“I got it, I got it, I got it!”, said Aemond as he was getting more overwhelmed despite his friends’ efforts to help him
“Alright, when you get up there, there is going to be special transport to take you to the Stark’s state, where (y/n) will be waiting for you”, said Criston. The entire of that sentence didn’t pleased Aemond at all, but he nodded
“Okay, great”, he said, finally getting it together, he didn’t know how the ladies did it. Aegon then passed him his coffee and all the balance he had manage to have, went out the window
Aegon went back to Criston’s jeep and took out his own bag
“What are you doing?”, asked Aemond
“You don’t think I was going to let you go alone to the most important mission of your life, right?”, he asked with a wicked smiled, and when Aemond looked around his group of friends he realized they were all in on it
“(y/n) is going to freak if you crash her wedding”, warned Aemond
“Hey, we go way back, she told me it was cool”, he said simply. Aemond nodded. “Let’s bring your girl back home”, he said with a cheeky smile.
“Go get them, maid of honor!”, chanted Addam
“Yeah!”, chanted Criston, who was living the saying, “if you can’t beat them, join them”
“Make this the perfect wedding… And steal the bride!”, said Adam
“Thanks, guys”, said Aemond with a little smile, and the four of them all hugged tightly, “Thanks for everything, man”, muttered Aemond to Addam’s ear
And with the help of several small liquor bottles and a sleeping pill for Aegon, and good headphones and his notebook filled with notes for Aemond, they managed to pull through the flight without bigger complications.
The rest of the bridesmaids were on the flight too, Aemond just say hello and was thankful that Aegon didn’t notice them until they landed and he looked like a mess with his sleeping mask around his forehead like an idiot, and his dragon shaped sleeping pillow around his neck.
They took the big van together, alongside a part of the bridal party, they didn’t even go into the city, taking an alternative highway, just giving them the main idea of what the capital of the north looked like.
The scenery was beautiful, kilometers of golden tundra, enchanted looking forests, big rivers, a mountain range decorating the horizon, it was breathtaking.
“Wow, this is like a fairy tale”, admired Walda looking through the window with her big eyes. “(Y/N) is so lucky”, she sighed dreamily
“I know”, said Baela, “I wish I was her”, she whispered
“I thought things with Jacaerys were going great”, asked Wlada
“They are, but he doesn’t own a castle in the north!”, she giggled, and they all giggled with her
“We'll come visit her”, said Cersei, keeping her composure, looking around with a pleased smile on her face
“I know”, said Baela, grabbing the blonde’s hand in hers and squeezing. “All the time”. But then all of a sudden, like mixing with the surroundings, stood a huge dark stone castle, it was the biggest castle Aemond had ever seen, even bigger than the Red Keep.
“That's his house!?”, asked Aegon, taking out his sunglasses and placing them on its head
“No. I think this is the summer house?”, asked Walda, Aegon shared looks with Aemond
“The Starks have homes for each season”, said the driver, “This summer home is the smallest. They also have an autumn home, winter home, spring…”
“I know the seasons, buddy”, interrupted Aemond
“Somebody's richer than you, Aemond, I guess you gotta go invent something even stupider”, mocked Cersei
“The entire castle was actually built in 3987 before the conquest”, kept saying Theon
“This is incredible, isn't it?”, asked Cersei when she got off the van and into the beautiful stone entrance. Aegon looked between the castle with admiration and his brother with fear, but anyways, he was happy to be here.
Also, from the other car, got out your mother and grandmother, Aemond tried to get to them, but Cregan was quick to help your grandmother Pearl, as she nodded, enchanted by his Northerner charm.
And there you were, waiting by a small army of staff, with a wide smile and open arms to receive your friends, Aemond was last, but he held you tight, kissing you in the corner of your mouth lovingly.
“I’m so glad you are here!”, you said excitedly, you looked so happy, and Aemond wanted to believe that it was because you were receiving your friends, and nothing else. “Aegon! so happy you crashed my wedding!”, you said happily, hugging him tightly, what was one more, right?
Cregan greeted him as well with a handshake and a hug, and then he led them all inside of the huge castle
“This castle has been in my family for generations…”, Aemond only rolled his good eye as he listened to him mumble
“Grandma Pearl, Joan, this is my mother, Gilliane and my father, Rickon”, he said, as Aemond noticed than in a big hall that might as well be a two story tall living room, where Cregan’s family, waiting to receive them
“How do you do?”
“How do you do?”, greeting flied there and there
“Nice to meet you, Joan”, greeted the severe looking guy, Rickon
“Nice to meet you. Welcome”, greeted Gilliane
“Everyone”, Cregan called the attention of everyone in the room, “I want you to meet someone who is special to my (Y/N) and has been a lifelong friend, and now her maid of honor: Aemond”, he said proudly, raising his cup. Aemond smiled awkwardly, as suddenly all the eyes of the room were on him.
“Yes”, he mumbled, nodding
“Did he just say he's the maid of honor? He's a bloke”, Rickon Stark whispered to his wife Gilliane, she just shrugged
“How do you do?”, he greeted both with a tense smile
“Very good, thank you”
“RIckon”, presented the man
“Rickon, pleasure”
“Thank you.”
“Definitely gay”, Rickon whispered in his wife’s ear. You could hear Aegon’s laugh at that.
There was also the family of Gilliane, the Boltons there, and some family on the side of RIckon, his brother Ned, and his family as well.
“Oh, and these are the bridesmaids: Walda, Baela and Cersei”, Cregan presented to his parents
“How do you do?”, greeted Baela
“Oh, hello”, greeted Gilliane
“Hi”, greeted Walda
“Nice that you could come”, greeted Rickon
“How do you do?”, greeted Gilliane
“So, what do you think?”, you asked Aemond as you finally had him by your side
“I think they think I'm gay”, he answered, who had clearly heard Rickon Stark
“What?”, you giggled
“Listen, can we get together? Talk, catch up?”, asked Aemond, you were going to answer, but you were interrupted
“Aemond, do you wanna see your chamber?”, asked Cregan, smiling at him.
“Oh, love to. Thank you”, he said, looking at you asking for help, but you didn’t ‘help’ him as Cregan dragged him away
“Follow me”
“So… (y/n)”, called Aegon wrapping his arm around your shoulders, you smiled at him, “are you really going to move to this icy tundra?”, he asked, you frowned
“I think so, yeah”, you said simply
“You know a castle this old must be hunted”, he said then, “are you ready to live in a haunted castle?”, he asked, you looked at him and giggled, he was clearly joking.
“I think I can handle it”, you said, and then you left him with an apologetic look and went to mingle with your future family by law.
Aegon took out of his pocket his small notepad, and a small pencil, scratching “haunted castle”, out of his ‘reasons’ for you not to marry this northerner prick.
“Right, onto the next… northerner food sucks”, he said proudly.
The introductions had gone well, you believed. You were terribly nervous, not only because of your friends, but because of your family as well. But they all seemed to get along just fine. At least that's what Cregan told you when he kissed you goodnight.
Cregan haven't ‘touched’ you since you arrived at Winterfell, in King’s Landing he seemed he wasn’t able to keep his hands to himself, but now that you weren on this millinery castle, he seemed to be more reserved, like he was trying you, he made you feel like some sort of horny slut, so each night he would kiss your temple at the door of your room and then he would go, and let you to fend for yourself in this cold room.
But now your friends are here, and the thought made you feel better, you had a big day ahead, and with that on your mind, you went to sleep.
As a future bride of a very important Northerner family, you had to put up with many traditions of the ancient house Stark, it was fine by you, it was, you knew what you were getting into… but you never expected this.
You started coughing as the hair dressed bathed you in setting spray,a after fixing your hair in a very northerner fashion
“Thank you”, said Gillaine, but she just wouldn’t stop, you couldn’t even see, “thank you!”, she said, grabbing the spray and throwing it across the room, the poor hairdresser just nodded at her.
“Now, then”, she said, fixing your hair, “I think just a few more sprigs of gypsophila at the front there”, she indicated, placing little flowers on top of your forehead. “Lovely” she said once she was content.
You didn’t like it, not one bit, and it got worse when you looked at your friend’s reactions through the mirror.
“What do you guys think?”, you asked, hopefully
“Oh, it is gorgeous”, Baela jumped first
“You look amazing”, said Cersei, nodding with her solemn face
“It is so pretty”, offered Walda, and she is the only one who seemed sincere. “With the veil… it’s going to look great”, she said, and that did make you feel better.
Like you were saying, you didn't want to fight your future family for this, you wanted to be pliant, but this wasn’t like you at all, you just hoped that Cregan would appreciate it.
“It's so shiny, it's gorgeous”, compliments kept flying but Aemond stood there, without saying a word.
“What do you think?”, you asked him, finally waking him up from his stupor
“Of?”, he asked
“The hair”, you clarified.
“Yeah, it, um…”, oh he hated it
The nice lady who was helping you with the hair pulled you away to help you get in your dress, so she wasn’t only a hairdresser, interesting.
They all helped you get in a puffy dress, and when it was done, a woman put a sash around you, with the colors gray, soft old green, black and white.
“This sash will go on the dress”, said Gillaine, taking the job of fixing it around you herself.
“Really?”, you asked her
“Tradition”, she said simply
In the meantime, Baela grabbed Aemond who looked completely horrified as he watched you try that awful looking dress, sash and hair-do
“What's up with the hair?”, he asked Baela, but Cersei came in, who pinched him in the arm aggressively, making him whine, “Well, I'm not entirely sure that…”
“You're the maid of honor. It's good to just be supportive…”, encouraged Baela with a look that wasn’t at all so encouraging, she looked like she wanted to kill him.
“I'm supportive”, he defended
“I don't think you are”, came in Cersei.
“I think I am”, he said back
“No, listen to me”, she said, “this is hard for her as well but this are traditions of the family she is marrying into, and we would be helping her a lot making those decisions more easily for her to make”, she said with greeted teeth, “got it?”, she asked, threatening to pinch him again
“Yes! got it!”, he said quickly. Then the four of them turned to you, who were looking back at them with hope in your beautiful eyes, only you could make all that tragedy look beautiful
“You're doing great, you're doing great”, he assured, and only that could pull a smile on your face. Aemond called your name and you turned to him expectantly. “Actually, you know?, your hair looks amazing”, he said gently, gods he was a good lair.
“Really?”, you asked him
“Yes”, he said, nodding solemnly, and you smiled, now more reassuring.
The door to the small chamber opened, and a woman appeared with her hands full of beautiful looking fabrics
“Oh, the games will be starting soon!”, said Gilliane, “here are your costumes”
“Games?”, asked Aemond, but his voice was drowned by your friends’ excitement
“Costumes!”, chanted Baela
“Costumes?”, asked Aemond again, “what do you mean "games"?”, asked Aemond to Gilliane
“Oh, the Northerner Games dear!”, she said simply, “It's a tradition in honor of the wedding, it goes right back to the time when the groom had to prove that he was man enough to deserve the bride, If he didn't win, he didn't get the bride”, she said proudly, “No problem for my Cregan though”, she said simply.
Alright, he could do it, he never had trouble with this sort of thing.
So the afternoon found you in a big valley, filled to the brim with people. You were wearing a long dress, it was more of a costume, as it was something the ladies would have worn five hundred years ago. You were even wearing a headdress.
“Welcome, one and all, to the Northerner Games!”, a voice with a thick accent could be heard through speakers, “men have traveled from all four corners of this great country to compete in feats of strength and agility! But only one warrior will be man enough to claim the bride! One competitor who needs no introduction is our very own Cregan Stark!”, all around the grounds the people cheered, as you did, who were sitting on wooden bleachers
“Doesn't my Cregan look handsome?”, Gilliaine asked you, you nodded. All the men were wearing traditional northerner clothes, kilts, being a part of said outfits.
“Yes”, you said dreamly, you never thought a man wearing a skirt could look so manly, but there he was. And then there was Aemond.
You opened your mouth in shock when you saw him
“Coming up the rear, all the way from King’s Landing, (Y/N)'s maid of honor... Aemond, who, I think you'll all agree, is wearing a rather fetching wee minikilt!”, a man said out loud, he was indeed wearing what you would consider a miniskirt.
“Who was in charge of that?”, you asked, horrified, as all the men women and children present in the games were laughing at him.
“I have no idea”, said Cersei with a smirk
Aegon on the other hand, was having the time of his life in a kilt with the colors of his own southerner house, with a black background and red and golden lines. and a white button up shirt and leather jacket, and he had his sunglasses on, and of course he was getting the looks of all the ladies there as they presented him.
“And the games begun!”
It was mainly a show of strength, throwing things, pulling things… and with the hilarious comments of a local man with a microphone.
First they had to throw a metal block over a tall hurdle.
Aegon comically lost all the games he participated in, but he did with such gusto, that everyone just cheered him on, he was stealing the show
“Yeah, you're sexy!”, someone shouted, you believed it was Baela, as he flexed his almost non existing muscles to the crowd
“Everybody giving their all!”, said the presenter, Cregan’s uncle Ned Stark, as the competition this time was using a bow and an arrow. And the one who managed to land three arrows near the center was the winner.
Aemond was a little rusty, but he defended himself quite nicely, but again, Cregan proved to be unbeatable as he landed the three arrows in the smaller red circle in the center
“And as we are heading to the third competition, we're running neck and neck! A Northerner against a Southerner!”
It was a long, long day.
Aegon lost quite easily, but he was now being comforted by three Northerner ladies who were congratulating him on his performance.
And the rest of the games? let’s just say it was the longest day in Aemond’s life
He had done everything they asked of him, he pulled a rope accompanied by four other men against Cregan’s best five.
He climbed a huge log with only the use of his hands and legs, he was sure the eternity of the North had seen his underwear. He threw a huge cannon ball across the green field… and many, many others.
Most of the men had withdrawn from the race already, but not him, oh no, not him, he couldn’t, he needed to prove, to all these northerners, and to you, that he was “man enough”, to marry you, yes, he needed to prove that.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the result of today's Winterfell Games rests upon the caber toss!”, finally, the final test, he thought, as he wiped sweat from his brow
He might be the outsider, he might be wearing a ridiculously short kilt, but he was still in the competition, and he was going to prove how deserving he was.
“The competition is down to two competitors! Aemond! and Cregan!”
But oh fuck is this wasn’t the icing of the cake, when Aemond finally realised what he had to do to prove himself.
“A tree? We're tossing a tree?”, asked Aemond, who could barely get his breath on check
“Yeah”, said Cregan happily, and Aemond cursed him hard on his mind, because again, he wasn’t even trying! He was giving his best in trying to compete against Cregan, but he didn’t even see him as a competitor, and it wasn’t even mean about it, he just didn’t care, he was nice like that.
Cregan grabbed the three, with effort, he could see that, but then he took two strong steps and threw the damn thing across the field, that thing took two tumbles, making it like 20 meters.
“What a toss!”, congratulated the presenter, “What a toss! Way to go, Cregan!”
He saw with discouragement how all the ladies of the bleachers, including you, were chanting Cregan’s name with excitement.
But they were going to be chanting his in no time, he knew it.
“He's strong!”, teased Cersei to your ear, you just nodded excitedly, you had already seen what those arms could do, and it looked promising.
“Well, then, Aemond! Let's see what you're made of! The whole competition rests on this throw”, said Ned with excitement.
He was possibly petrified at the very thought.
But this was it
“Look alive, lassie!”, he said someone called for him.
“Come on, Aemond!”, oh finally, that was your sweet voice! calling his name, he had to make this throw! he had to!
“Okay, I can do this. I can do this”, he chanted as a mantra, if he could throw this tree, this huge log, then he could confess to you his love, he could. Two men passed him the log, and he grabbed it as he could.
He had to grab it by the base, that way he was going to throw it more easily, he knew it, but gods if that was hard to do!
“Okay, here we go!”
He stumbled, the shit was heavy, very heavy, he stumbled once more as all the voices around him got quiet all of a sudden
“COME ON AEMOND YOU CAN DO IT!”, he heard the voice of his brother Aegon, cheering him on
“Okay. Okay, okay. I got it.”, he said, more to himself, this might as well be the hardest thing he had ever done
“Here we go!”, the presenter said as he started to take more determined steps, to get momentum to throw the log, “HERE WE GO!”, he heard, excitedly.
he did as he could, he did, he threw it will all his might, with all his determination
The log flew through the air. But Aemond had stumbled a bit before he released it, so all the people there gathered to watch in horror as the log landed on top of a car.
A freaking car!
It completely destroyed it
“Oh, dear. That's gonna cost the Southerner the girl”, he said through the speakers.
“What an ass!”, mocked Cersei
And just like that… he lost the freaking games, he looked back at you with fear in his eyes and you looked completely surprised at the sudden turn of events.
“And the winner of the Wintertown Games is our very own Cregan Stark!”, called the presenter, and again, everyone cheered, his friends came in to hug him, and congratulated him. But Cregan ran to you, to get a sweet kiss from your lips which you happily gave him.
That certainly deter Aemond’s spirit significantly
That very night, you were having dinner at the great hall back in Winterfell castle.
Cregan stood up, and sang, he actually sang to you, and to all the guests of the wedding, he had a beautiful deep voice, and the song he chose was more of a poem, but it was stunning nonetheless. As he finished, he looked at you, and kissed you softly on the lips
“Well done, my boy”, said Gillaine with a soft voice as the rest of his family threw praises left and right
Is there anything he wasn’t good at? thought Aemond sulkily from his seat, hiding his disgust in his cup of wine.
“Robert Burns, who wrote that song, is Winterfell's most famous poet”, Cregan said to you, you just smiled at him in thanks for this beautiful song he had dedicated to you
“So Cregan”, asked his aunt from the other side of the table, “when are you going to graze us with children, uh?”, she asked, looking at you
“Well, (Y/N) wants to wait a few years first”, he said softly, surrounding your shoulders with his thick arm
“Why? she is not getting any younger!”, you almost spilled your drink, “and you know, how you should name him once he is born”, you didn't know what to say to all of that, but Cregan could sense your tension
“No, no, auntie, we haven't had any children yet, so we haven't got any names”, he said softly, and you appreciated that, but you didn’t like the direction the conversation was taking.
“Athol”, the woman said to you, taking you a-back, this she just called you an asshole?
“Excuse me?”, you asked her
“It's a name for the children”, said Cregan quickly
“Athol”, the woman repeated, and you looked at Cregan horrified, he couldn’t mean that, could he? It sounded like an asshole!
“Yeah, no, we won't be naming our child Athol”, you said quickly, “maybe when he's a teenager”, you offered, Cregan laughed by your side, but you could tell he was faking it.
“My mother's cousin was the Duke of Athol”, said Cregan’s aunt, “We're a long line of Athols”, yes they were.
You were feeling overwhelmed, you got no say in your hair, or your dress, or the sash, or the traditions, and apparently, not the name of your own child.
But as you looked at Cregan, he was worth it, he was the sweetest man you had met…
But gods, why the name for the children?
“Well, maybe... maybe we'll keep it in the mix, eh?”, Cregan asked you, “Maybe as a middle name?”, you didn't know if he was being serious or not, but you just nodded, not very much enthusiastic
“So, (Y/N), do you like the venison?”, Gilliane asked you over Cregan. And you were just thankful the topic had changed
“It's delicious”, you offered
“Cregan shot it. He's a wonderful shot”, she said with a smile, and you were petrified
“Oh, stop, mom, you'll make me blush”, muttered Cregan
“And this is the moment, I've just remembered”, she said, taking out his phone
“What moment's that?”, you asked her, as she pulled her phone to you
“When Cregan killed the deer, I filmed it”, you jumped when a shot rang through the speakers, “Right between the eyes”, oh right you saw it happening on the screen, “In fact, everything we are eating this evening, Cregan has killed!”, she announced to everyone at the table, and they all seemed fascinated
“Cregan!”, called Rickon, raising his glass
“To Cregan!”, they all echoed, raising their own glasses
“In your honor, (Y/N)”, Cregan said lovingly, and you wished you could be honored, but you were horrified.
“That is so thoughtful”, you said with a wide smile, placing a hand on your chest, “I'm so sorry I didn't kill anything for you”, you offered, Cregan only chuckled.
The desserts were being served, interrupting you once again
“Oh, gosh. What did you get?”, you asked him lovingly, and you looked with a smile as Cregan got a slice of chocolate cake.“Oh, I love chocolate!”, you took your fork as you intended on taking a piece of his place. But to your horror, he stopped you
“Don't... Don't do that”, he said, and you froze on your spot, “If you want some…”, he said, grabbing a tiny bit with his own fork, and placed it on a plate between the two of you. “Here, give you some. Okay?”, you pouted
Aemond couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
He wasn’t even relieved anymore, because his job was getting easier, he couldn’t believe this dude!
After that messy dinner, you all got your drinks at the next room, a cart filled with bottles of the distillery, a hunting room by the looks of it. The thing was filled with stuffed animals and heads of deers on the walls, hunting trophies.
Aemond and Aegon looked at the room with interesting look on his faces
“Look nothing happened when I told her about the haunted castle, that didn’t work, so… I’ll keep trying”, Aemond just looked at his brother wondering how more dumb he could get, but then he just nodded. His eyes then found you, who was being boarded by your future father in law and his brother.
“Go save her”, said Aegon, Aemond nodded and went straight for you
“Excuse me”, he said as he passed by members of Cregan’s family, getting to you, “Hi”, he greeted, the men just nodded, acknowledging him, “A wonderful dinner, by the way”, said Aemond
“Delighted, Aemond”, muttered Rickon
“And your wife is looking for you”, he said quickly.
“Oh, thank you very much”, he said, and the patriarch of house Stark finally left you alone to look for his wife, his brother following in tow.
“Nice one”, you said, he smirked
“Cheers”, you clink your glass with his, and then downing your scotch
“A little birdie tells me Cregan personally slayed each one of these reindeer heads”, he said, looking around the room
“Aemond”, you warned
“You're right… When I say a little birdie told me, he would've told me, but Cregan shot it”, he mocked. You were not commenting on it, so he changed the subject, “Listen, seriously. Can we go somewhere private and talk? It's important”
“Yeah”, he looked serious
“Shall we go?”, he asked, you nodded, but before you could slip away, the sound of… some horrible musical instrument interrupted you
“What is that?”, growled Aemond. And there he was, Cregan accompanied with a couple of his cousins, playing a musical instrument based on wind that was just awful.
“Oh, for all the gods”, you muttered. The sound was truly haunting, but you could tell he was putting on a show for you, and your guests
“You know, he's been playing the windpipes ever since he was 3 years old”, Gillaine told you, you just smiled and nodded, “practices every night”, you quickly stopped smiling
“Every night?”, you asked her, horrified. You couldn’t bear the thought of hearing mating seagulls every single night
“Oh, never misses”, she said proudly.
Aegon was dead-ass covering his ears with a disturbed look on his face, and your grandmother didn’t look so impressed either. When it was finally over, he took his hands out of his ears, and looked at the glow in the dark necklace your grandmother was wearing
“What kind of necklace is that?”, Aegon asked, looking at grandma's Pearls necklace.
“They're glow-in-the-dark thunder beads”, she said proudly, and Aegon just laughed loudly, wrapping his arm around Pearl’s, “let’s get you a drink my friend”
“Finally!”, she said, “don’t tell my daughter!”, Aegon laughed again
“I won’t! just don’t get frisky with me!”, he warned in a tone of a joke, Pearl just smiled, but he laughed when he felt the hand of the grandma going more ‘south’ than his back, “watch those hands grandma!”, he laughed.
The gathering ended shortly after, and you found yourself getting ready for bed in your room, when a soft knock on the door interrupted you. You open the door and it was your mother
“Oh, hi, mom”, you greeted
“I have something for you”, she said softly, you both sat on the big bed, and she showed you a photo album she had, “This is so you can have a little piece of home with you”, you eyes filled with tears as you looked at her
“Thank you”, you said softly. You started looking through the pictures,
“Oh, look at you”, she said, “you were so small”, you were lacking some teeth and were smiling right at the camera… “There's you and Cersei”, both of you were on your uniforms for your first day of school, “You were about 5 there”, you kept looking at the precious memories. “Oh, do you remember this? It was taken at the lake when your father broke his arm because of that silly motorcycle of his”, she said, looking at the picture taken at the God’s eye
“I miss dad so much”, you whined wiping a tear off of your face as you saw a picture of him.
“Me too, sweetheart”, she said, caressing your arm
“I just wish he could've been here”, you whispered, “he was always so worried I was never gonna meet anyone”, you said with a soft chuckled
“Oh, no, he wasn't”, she said dismissively, she then pointed at a picture, “Oh, that's Braavos”, it was a picture of the three of you under the Braavos’ Colossus, and then when you turned the page there was a picture of you and Aemond, shortly after you finished college, “He could be so off-base sometimes”, she said mindlessly
“What? why?”, you asked her
“Well, it's just… he was always convinced that you were gonna marry Aemond”, she said gently, you just looked back at her, wide-eyed
“Really?”, you asked her, she just smiled sadly at you
“I'll see you in the morning”, she said lovingly, “Good night, my angel”, she kissed your temple and left you.
A wave of sadness engulfed you, were you really mad? moving halfway across the whole continent? leaving your family behind? your mom and your grandmother? you were the only thing they had left. And there was no possible way they’d move up here… you just hugged yourself and tried to sleep.
“It's pulling off a Band-Aid. You just have to close your eyes and do it”, Aemond closed his eyes as he took a long sigh
“But I just haven't found the right time”, he explained to the phone
“What are you talking about, "right time"? Any time is the right time to say "I love you. Marry me."
“Right”, but Aemond wasn’t convinced
“Come on, what are you there for, man? Take the shot, win the game, and bring her home. And stop running up my long-distance phone bill with these crazy calls!”, said Addam, “besides, you got Aegon right there with you!”
“Right. Right, right, okay”, he said simply, “Thanks, Addam”,
“You can do this, Aemond! You can do this, you can do this”, he repeated until his friend believed him
“What's wrong with me?”, whined Aemond, he was not believing it
“You can do this. You can do this!”, he kept repeating. He hung up the phone and put it in his pocket, and then turned around and you were walking towards him.
“Hey”, you greeted softly
“Hey”, he said back, oh when he looked at you he felt like the world stopped, and there was nothing more important than you. “Hey, I thought we could go for a walk and, uh, work on the vows”, he offered, it was a beautiful afternoon, the sunset was about to happen and the day was very calm
“Good idea. I could use some help”, you said with a soft smile.
“Yeah? Good, okay”, you walked with your arm coiled with his, towards the beautiful lake that surrounded the property. You sat on a beautiful bench with the views of the sunset and you presented your ideas to him, that you had scribbled on your notepad
“So… what do you think?”, you asked him
“I think a lot of things”, he said simply, relaxed because you didn’t know what to say in your own vows, and he took that as a good sign. He looked at you, you looked beautiful under this light, and he knew… this was his moment, it had to be
“I've been working on them all week, and I think they're actually getting worse”, you said, discouraged. No matter how hard you thought about it, the words just wouldn’t come to you, you felt so strongly about Cregan and yet… nothing you could put into words.
“Yeah”, he mumbled, looking straight at you, but you were looking ahead.
“At first, I went for the emotion, then I thought, oh, God, what if Cregan doesn't?”, you kept rambling
“Yeah”, he didn’t care, the only thing he cared about was you
“And then I tried to be funny, well, I don't know if the Northmen have the same sense of humor as King’s Landers”, you tried, “So now I'm back to something basic, and I totally think I veered off into something boring”, you didn’t know what to say, but he did, this was it.
“I'm crazy about you”, he said quickly, looking into your eyes, you were just looking ahead into the horizon, “I think about you all the time. And I want to spend the rest of my life with you”, he tried then. He saw you frown
“Really?”, you asked him, finally looking back at him
“Really”, he said firmly, alright, this was it… his moment
“That's so generic”, you said then, and Aemond’s face was now horrified
“Generic?”, he asked
“Yeah”, you said, oblivious to his confession, you thought he was just helping you with your vows
“Generic?”, he asked again
“It totally is”, you said back
“How can that be generic?”, he asked
“It sounds like something somebody is supposed to say as opposed to what you're really feeling”, you said, looking at the sunset, trying to get inspired
“All right, how about, uh…”, alright this was it, his moment, “nobody in the world makes me laugh the way you do, you're my best friend, I just want to be with you”, he blurred it out, and you didn’t think how that could apply to Cregan, but then you noticed the way Aemond was looking at you.
“What?”, you asked him, did he mean it? he could not possibly mean it.
“Look out, look out, look out!”, you heard the screeching of Baela, making you turn on your seat.
“There she is! (Y/N), let's go!”, called Cersei, and Aemond looked like he wanted to take a swim at the lake. They all surrounded you, they had a cape in their hands and a strange pot
“What is this?”, he asked, completely horrified
“This is her "taking out.", said Walda
“Her what?”, asked Aemond
“We dress her up and then we parade her around one of the pubs”, explained Walda
“That's weird”, he mumbled
“It's tradition!”, she corrected
“And then we fill a toilet with salt and we sell your kisses for change!”, said Baela
“Really? They sell your kisses?”, asked Aemond, “that is unhygienic”
“Yup”, said Baela, “can’t wait!”
“Come on, it's like a Northerner bachelorette party”, you offered to Aemond, who was again, completely horrified. Your friends started to pull you back towards the castle, and he followed in tow. Cars where waiting for you to take you to the town
���Okay!, come on!”, cheered Baela, to Aemond’s surprise, Aegon joined in, and the six of you went partying
The pub was classic looking, and extremely old, but it had his charm, it was the most popular bar in town. Your friends had dressed you with a colorful and traditional “maiden cape”, with the colors of your soon to be husband’s House.
As you entered the bar everyone there looked at you
“All right, let's sell some kisses!”, said Baela excitedly.
“Uh! can I sell my kisses too?”, asked Aegon, looking around finding beautiful women.
This huge guy put some coins in your bucket and then he kissed you quickly on the lips, taking your breath away, you really weren’t expecting it, he then spread his arms to the entire bar
“It's her taking out! She's got the breath of an angel!”, to your horror, everybody cheered. And then, a bunch of guys just started putting coins in your bucket and then stealing short close mouthed kisses.
At first it was weird, but as your friends started giving you scotch, it became funny, as more men, of all sizes, ages and heights stole kisses from you
You friends got in the bar, exchanging the coins for glasses of scotch, which they dawned quickly.
“Another!”, chanted Aegon to the bartender as they asked for another round, enjoying the funds you were procuring with your kisses
“Another!”, said Cersei, “Thank you!”, she said, taking another drink to you that you just pushed back pretty quickly.
“Come on man”, said Aegon, putting some coins in Aemond’s hand, “go for it, I’ll distract the flock”, he said quickly, Aemond nodded as he watched his brother stump back to the group of ladies and now he was truly thankful of having him here.
And now he went straight for you, who had been walking towards a more deserted part of the old pub. He got in your way, trapping you in a tight hallway from one room to the next.
“This is all I have”, Aemond said, placing a couple of golden dragons on your pot, you looked at him wide-eyed, he leaned in, and trapped your lips on his.
He was doing it for fun, he always kisses you like this, it was… but then why was he encasing your face with his hands?
You didn’t even realize when you dropped your pot and all its contents as you hugged Aemond tightly against you, the kiss turned more heated, as you opened your mouth to receive his eager tongue.
He placed his hands on your hips and stuck you to him, as you never wanted this to end…
Did he mean it? everything he had said?
“Oh, my gosh, you guys!”, you separated as the other was on fire when you heard Baela’s screech, you dropped to your knees to gather the contents of your pot, the coins and the salt. Aemond was right there to help you.
You feel your friend’s hands on you as you get back on your feet.
“We have to get more kisses!”, said Baela, and you were relieved that she didn't see anything.
“Kisses!”, screamed Walda
“More kisses!”
“Kisses!”, and you didn’t dare to look at Aemond for the rest of the night.
Aemond knew it was coming, he knew you, he knew you were going to come for him tonight, so when he heard a knock on the door, he smiled softly, he prepared himself, took a long breath, and then opened the door, but it wasn’t you on the other side…
“I can't take it anymore!”, mumbled Cersei drunkenly
“What are you doing?”, he asked, genuinely scared
“Let's do it again. For old times' sake”, she said, she was only wearing a long coat, and when she took it off, it was only lingerie underneath.
“Don't take that off!”, he said, trying to cover his eyes
“No, Aemond, I need to make this up to you!”, she said,t aking his hand to take them out of his face
“Don't take this… off”, he muttered, but she was all over him, she pushed him to the bed and he fell on his back
“I'm really unhappy!”, she cried, this was just a mess
“That's fine”, offered Aemond, “let’s just not do this”
“No, it's okay!”, she said, trying to kiss him, she was over him in a second, pushing him harder against the bed
“Aemond, I'm not happy at all”, she said, between kisses she was trying to land on his face. Aemond did try to push her off of him, but he didn’t want to be rough, after all, she was a lady, and he didn’t want to hurt her. “And I am in a really, really confusing place in my life right now”, she kept with her monologue that frankly, he didn’t understand.
“Confusing?”, he asked then
“Listen, I have had some whisky…”, she explained messily,
“I can tell…”, answered Aemond
“And I need you to service me”, she completed
“Service you!?”
“Service me, bitch!”, she demanded as she slapped him across the face. “Service me!”, that is when he noticed the door was opened, and Cersei was screaming
“Be quiet! Be quiet!”, he begged
“You be quiet”, answered Cersei
“Get off of me!”, he begged, “Just be quiet”, and when he was turning his face, he saw you, standing on the door frame, looking at the scene, completely heartbroken.
“(Y/N)!”, he called, but you ran off. He then pushed Cersei to the floor as she landed in a fit of laughter
“Bring me more whiskys!”, she demanded front he floor, but he didn’t care, he ran after you
But he didn’t manage to catch you before you locked yourself in your room
“(Y/N)!”, he called but she just closed the heavy wooden door on his face, but that didn’t deter him, he knocked on the door hastily, “It's Aemond, let me in! Let me in!”, he begged.
“Go away, Aemond”, you said, placing both your hands on the door to keep him out, despite the door being closed.
“No, no, no, no, no, let me explain”, he said quickly, sticking his face to the ancient wood, “It's not what you think”, he couldn’t believe this was happening to him, after all of it, after all the work, after all the training, one single moment could ruin everything
“It doesn't matter now”, you said brokenly
“Yes, it does”, he said. “Why did you...?”, he needed to know, he needed to know why you looked for him tonight.
“Just go!”, you begged, and this was just what you needed, you couldn’t believe you were willing to throw everything away with Cregan just for a fling with Aemond, you knew him, you knew how he was and still, you couldn’t help but think you were going to be different. Then you remembered painfully why you never could give him an inch of space.
“I'll go. Just tell me, why did you come to my room?”, he asked him, but there was no answer, “(Y/N)? Why did you come to the room?”, he asked softly, he knew you, he did, he was getting answers.
“To talk about that kiss”m you answered softly
“Oh, (Y/N)”, he whispered lovingly, he knew if he could just see you now, he would convince you. “Please don't… Don't marry him”, there, he said it, he begged you to
“All these years, Aemond”, you cried out. After all these years, you loved him, you loved Aemond, and you had lost count of how many times you wished you could just let him in… but you never did.
“Don't marry him”, he repeated
“All this time…. You're doing this now?”, you asked him
“I know”, he said. You could tell this was hard for him too, but that didn’t make the anger that was bubbling up inside you change.
“How can you do this?”, you asked him. slapping your hand on the door
“I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Just let me in”, he begged.
“No, I can't”, you whined, voice broken
“Let me in”, he begged softly
“You're only doing this now because you're afraid of losing me”, you accused, “I need someone
who's gonna be there for me no matter what happens”, you said, choking up in your own words, “Someone who truly... loves me… Someone I can trust”
“But (Y/N)... I…”, you stuck your ear to the door, waiting to hear him say it… but it never came
“You can’t even say it”, you whispered, a tear falling down your eye, “I'm marrying Cregan tomorrow… Aemond”, you said more decisively, wiping your own tear from your eye
“I can't be your maid of honor”, you heard through the door, “I can't give you away to him, I can’t… I'm sorry, (Y/N)”, he whispered back.
You heard his steps walking away and that when you slid down the door to the floor, tears kept falling down your eyes.
taglist!
@snh96 @sagelovesreading @toodlesxcuddles @ammo23 @bananzaa @ttkttt @at-a-rax-ia @n4tforlife @spn-obession @moonnicole
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── PURSUIT // PROLOGUE
Series Synopsis: When your cousin goes missing right before he can challenge the Champion of your region, you must embark on a journey of your own in the hopes that one day, you might finally find him — wherever he may be.
Chapter Synopsis: Your cousin, Shoei, sets out on his journey, leaving you behind with a final gift as a farewell.
Series Masterlist
Pairing(s): Nagi x Reader, Barou & Reader
Chapter Word Count: 2.5k
Content Warnings: pokémon au except i make the world emo and infest it with blue lockers, angst, character death, familial bonds, found families, male-female FRIENDSHIPS, a slow burn so insane the main love interest isn’t even in a solid amount of chapters, it’s my world i do what i want which means liberties are taken, near death experiences, this story is long bro literally everything happens in it the amount of arcs i have planned is insane, original characters because reader will NOT be the only girl i refuse to write in conditions like that
A/N: this is SUCH a niche crossover i’m actually crying but ykw at least it’s different from the typical aus LMAOOO anyways um please be sure to read the warnings and if you enjoy this then like…reblog or comment or send me an ask or smth HAHA (only if you want though i can’t control you)
tag list (send an ask to be added): @sharkissm
The last time you saw Shoei Barou, he was pressing a Pokéball in your hand. His backpack was slung over his shoulder, his typical scowl on his face, and his Houndour sat at his feet, wagging its tail at you. The surface of the Pokéball was glimmering, ruby on top and a pearly white on the bottom, and because you could not bear to look at him, you trained your gaze on the watery sunrise it reflected.
“She’s yours,” he said. “I registered her under your name.”
“Guess that makes me a trainer, too,” you said.
“Don’t start on your journey for a while,” he said. “Or else you’ll catch up to me. Wait until I’m good enough that I’m someone you want to chase after, and begin then.”
He was embarking on his journey later than usual, but you had no doubt that he’d quickly surpass those with five or even ten years of experience on him. Shoei was like that, and so was his Houndour. What they lacked in battle prowess, they made up for with dogged tenacity, and it was impossible to imagine either of the two struggling for any amount of time.
“I won’t,” you said.
“Good,” he said. “Look, she’ll probably be better off if you just leave her in her Pokéball until you start training seriously, so don’t worry about that.”
“Won’t she get bored?” you said. He shook his head.
“Being in the Pokéball is a kind of stasis for them. She’ll know the time has passed, but it won’t be the same as if she were actually living it. It’s better that way, trust me. She’s the destructive type, and I won’t be around to help you if she acts up,” he said.
“Ah,” you said. “I see. I’ll do as you recommend, then.”
He reached out and placed a hand atop your head. You swallowed, staring at the dirt path beneath your feet, the worn toes of your old sneakers, the frayed cuffs of your too-short jeans — anything but him. You couldn’t bear it if it was him.
“You’ll be okay,” he said. “Y/N.”
“Yes,” you sniffed, though you had sworn to him so many times that you wouldn’t cry.
“You’ll be okay,” he repeated. “I promise.”
“Yes,” you said again. His hand balled into a fist, and then he knocked it lightly against your brow. Unlike you, he was smiling, and you did your best to quell the trembling of your lower lip when you made eye contact with him.
“Hey, kid,” he said. “Enough with the bawling, okay? How am I supposed to call you my cousin when you’re like this? We can’t be related if you get so upset about every little thing. That’s not how it works.”
“I can’t help it,” you said, and then he sighed, hugging you tightly. His Houndour barked, rubbing his head against your calf, which was the only method the small Pokémon had of comforting you. “I can’t help it, I know I should be happy but—”
“Be happy,” he commanded you, letting you go and placing his hands on your shoulders. “Y/N L/N. Be happy. I’m going to be Champion one day, and that’s nothing to be sad about.”
“Will you come back home once you are?” you said.
“No,” he said. “No, of course not. I’ll be busy with the duties of the role. Have you seen how many television appearances Mr. Mikage does? But I’ll bring you there with me, you and your parents and mine, and all of us can live there together. Is that enough of a consolation?”
“Okay,” you said, even though it really wasn’t. But it’d be a cruelty to stop Barou, akin to clipping the wings of a Pidgeot and telling it to fly. He was as restless as his Houndour, who even now sat and stared out at the horizon instead of the home it was leaving behind. The both of them were turbulent, impossible to cage, and if one tried to hold them back, then they were little more than a brazen fool.
“I’ll see you later, Y/N,” he said. “Try not to be to sad without me, alright?”
The Pokéball was cold and heavy in your hands as you watched him and Houndour walk off. Neither of them turned back, not for a moment, and then they were over the crest of the shallow hill in the road which led to the nearby cliffs, disappearing from your line of sight for good.
“Y/N!” It was the same boy again. He had been bothering you since you both had entered secondary school, mostly because that was around the time that Shoei had begun his league challenge. Of course, he had obtained all of the gym badges in quick succession, but conferences were only held every four years, and so he had had to wait until the next one before he could attempt to storm through it and reach the Elite Four, hence the delayed interest in his talent.
“Hello,” you said. He had never bothered introducing himself to you, and you were at the point now where it would be awkward for you to ask, so you generally pretended like you recognized him and hoped your conversations never grew to be too long.
“Did you hear the news? I mean, he’s your cousin, so of course you did, but still, still, can you believe it?” he said.
“What are you talking about?” you said.
“Barou!” he said. At the mention of Shoei, your Pokéball grew warm against your hip, and your left hand instinctively flew to the thin chain around your neck. “He’s actually done it — he beat Noel Noa!”
“Noel Noa…the last Elite Four member, right?” you said. The boy nodded at you. He was grinning as hard as if it were his own cousin who had mastered the league, or indeed as if he were the victor, but the truth was that besides you, there were very few in the entire city who could claim to know Shoei, so his pride was unwarranted.
“Yup! No one’s ever beaten him but Mr. Mikage,” he said.
“Well, Mr. Mikage is the champion,” you said. “So what’s next? Does he battle Mr. Mikage?”
“Pretty much,” the boy said. “Although he’s allowed to take his time in between and train his team. The conference win and Elite Four victories are only prerequisites, but it’s not like you have to do it all at once. In fact, hardly anyone ever does. Your team needs to rest in between battles, and besides, challenges to the Champion position are so rare that they need time to set it all up.”
“What do you mean, ‘set it all up?’” you said, sitting down at your desk at the back of the classroom. The boy didn’t usually sit with you, but today he was too excited, so he collapsed rather awkwardly in the chair at your side, leaning over with his elbows digging into his thighs.
“Didn’t you know? All Champion matches are televised!” he said. “The entire region will be able to see him battling. He’s amazing, you know.”
“Of course he is,” you said matter-of-factly. “That’s good that it’ll be filmed. It’s impossible to get tickets unless you’re a league official or have more money than you know what to do with.”
The boy coughed, his face turning red. Your eyes flicked to his belt, which was conspicuously devoid of any Pokéballs, just like the rest of your classmates, and then you curled inwards when you once again recalled that amongst your peers, it was only you who required the league-issued stipend for trainers to afford your tuition.
“Anyways,” he said, pursing his lips — a reminder to you that he had sat in the stands of the last league conference and was in fact one of those such types that you had been referring to earlier, “I’ve heard they’re thinking of moving towards broadcasting the entire conference andany Elite Four challenges instead of just the Champion matches.”
“Really?” you said, eager to change the subject. He nodded.
“Yup, it’s the case. The TV studios and news stations have been pushing for it. As long as they can throw in some advertisements and sponsorships between the battles themselves, their profits will shoot up like crazy,” he said.
“Well, that makes sense,” you said. “Why hadn’t they implemented it earlier?”
“They’ve been trying, but supposedly, there’s been a lot of pushback from some of the league officials. They think they’ll lose money if people can just watch battles online, since there’ll be less of an incentive to buy tickets to watch them in person,” he said.
“Ah. So what changed their minds? Aren’t the league officials notoriously stubborn?” you said. He snorted.
“That’s what my dad says. He’d rather deal with a Slaking than any of them,” he said. You couldn’t quite remember what his father did for a living, but if you had to guess, it was something financial-related, given the boy’s unnatural interest in the field. “Apparently, they tried it out in Johto to great effect, so they plan to give it a go here in Kalos as well.”
“Interesting,” you said. “I guess it doesn’t mean much to me now, since Shoei’s already through, but I’m sure it’ll be helpful to someone or another in the future.”
“Maybe we’ll see you onscreen next, eh, Miss Trainer?” he said. You rolled your eyes at the nickname; coming from him, it wasn’t so horrible, but it wasn’t always like that. Most of the time, you hated when the others brought up your trainer status, because it only set you further and further apart from the rest.
Of course, almost everyone had a Pokémon or two as a companion or to make the activities of their daily living that much easier, but there was a difference between a Pokémon owner and a Pokémon trainer. Trainers were the ones who were registered with the government, who were sent a monthly stipend by the league to pay for their and their Pokemon’s upkeep, and who made a career out of the sport. At least, that was what they were supposed to be, but nowadays, genuine trainers were few and far between; more often than not, those with the distinction were like you, with a single Pokémon that had never known the heat of battle and a desperate need for the extra income that their status, passive though it might’ve been, brought them.
The school-issued Gogoat that was designated to escort you home trotted along beside you, its tail bouncing with the gaiety of its pace, its ears perked against the wind as you went along. You sometimes wondered if the Pokémon you supposedly owned was anything like that, but based on Shoei’s description, you had mostly decided it wasn’t.
“Thanks for taking me back, Gogoat,” you said, patting it on the forehead when you reached your doorstep. It bleated at you, nuzzling you happily and then bounding away. You watched it go with a smile, incredibly fond of it though you knew it wasn’t actually yours — just a vehicle assigned to you because the school knew that most of its students weren’t proper trainers. The institute didn’t want to be held liable in case there was some kind of an attack, so the Gogoats had been trained to accompany students to and from their classes as well as to protect them as best as they could.
Supposedly it was a common practice, one that had been invented in Aquacorde Town, but there they used Arcanines instead of Gogoats, so privately you thought that those of you in Coumarine City got the better deal.
“Mother?” you said, peering into the kitchen, smiling when you saw her there, stirring a pot of something that smelled delicious. “I’m home.”
“Y/N!” she said. “How was school today?”
“It was fine,” you said, self-consciously drumming your nails against your Pokéball. “This guy told me that Shoei’s going to challenge the Champion soon. Mr. Mikage. They’re going to film it and everything. We should ask Uncle and Auntie if they want to come over and watch with us.”
“That sounds like a good idea,” she said. Shoei’s father, your uncle, was her brother, and they had remained so close throughout their adulthood that it felt at times like Shoei was less your cousin and more a genuine brother of your own who occasionally slept in another house. “Imagine if he can become Champion!”
“He will,” you said, unclipping your Pokéball from your belt and setting it on the table, where your mother’s Espurr was sleeping. At the movement, she sat up, giving the unassuming ball a disgusted look and climbing to the top of a shelf where she could continue to nap. “All everyone talks about is how strong he is. There’s no way he’s losing, especially if he beat Noel Noa.”
“It’ll be great for the family,” she said.
“Yes,” you said. “And for him.”
“Do you know when the match is scheduled for?” she said. You shook your head.
“No, I don’t. The guy said people usually take a break in between defeating the Elite Four and challenging the Champion, so that their teams can rest and all. I’m sure it’ll be announced well in advance, though. It’s not everyday that somebody fights Mr. Mikage himself,” you said.
“That’s true,” she said. “In the meantime, how’s this for dinner?”
“Looks good,” you said, though it was out of distraction, not approval. Your mind was racing as you tried to picture how the battle between Shoei and the Champion might go. Would he look different? Of course, he would have to, it had been a while since you had seen him last, and it might be a while more until you saw him next, depending on how long he took to put in the formal request to battle. Two weeks, or maybe even three.
Yet weeks turned into months, which turned into years, and still he did not appear to face Mr. Mikage. Eventually the excitement faded into a distant memory, and soon, if his name was brought up at all, it was as nothing but the Never-Champion, the one who was too frightened to fight against the undefeated head of the league and the Mikage Corporation alike.
At first you weren’t worried, but as time stretched on, you resorted to begging the police, the local Gym Leader, anyone who would listen, just for a chance at finding him. Yet one by one, they each refused. After all, what could be done? He was a top trainer, they worked in mysterious ways, everyone knew that. Any day now, he would reappear and that long-awaited battle between himself and the Champion might finally happen. Nothing about the situation was abnormal in the slightest. Maybe the cowardice was a bit uncharacteristic, but otherwise? There wasn’t any cause for stress.
And so, for that reason, nobody but you ever thought of actually looking for him — they never even knew that they had to.
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