Valyria 298 AC.
Jaehaerys Targaryen.
He sat and spoke to his father, listening as he told tales of his life that Jae was sure not even Arthur had heard before. Jae telling his own tales, of Margaery and of Jaime and the Lannisters, and how they had been a family to him. Talking to his real father about his father by choice should have felt strange, odd, maybe even disrespectful and yet it did not. It actually felt right and his father seemed to appreciate hearing all that Jaime had done for him. Speaking to him when he was done and telling him to thank Jaime and Arthur when he returned.
When he spoke of Aemon, Shiera, Tyrion, and Dany, his father was surprised and not. Jae finding out that were limits to what they had seen of his life. That Rhaenys didn't appear once or that Rhaenix didn't awaken at all during their talk was explained to him and Jae felt relieved to know that she too was spending time with their family, and would be with his father once he left him alone. Something he did eventually, Jae saying his goodbyes and doing his best to keep his tears at bay. It was something he managed to do for only a few moments after his father had left.
"Mother?" he called out when he saw the shape emerge from behind Rhaenix "Mother." he called a little later as he looked at her through tear-filled eyes.
"Jaehaerys." she said smiling at him.
She barely got the words out of her mouth, Jae moving to her and almost lifting her from the ground in his exuberance. Hearing his mother's laughter as he held her tight, Jae despite his tears laughed too.
"My sweet son." he heard her whisper as she stared at his face, his mother just like Elia and his father almost seeming to be memorizing how he looked, something that he was doing to her too.
He'd seen her before, drawn her, dreamed of her, and yet this felt different. It was more real in some way and not just that he could feel her in his arms or that his face was just inches from her own. It felt more real, like the difference between a dream and being awake. Her fingers traced his face, Jae closing his eyes as she touched his forehead, his cheeks, his nose, and finally his lips. When he opened them she was smiling at him, her own eyes full of tears that he quickly wiped away.
Her eyes were the same as his, Arya's too though his little sister's were a little lighter than both of theirs. She had dark brown hair like his uncles and there was a sense of life about her that was hard to put into words. Over the years he'd heard tales from his uncle Ned and Benjen, from Nan and others at Winterfell. Even from people who knew her briefly like Ser Richard or who'd spent more time with her like Ser Arthur. He'd heard her described as beautiful, fierce, strong, and determined. Howland had spoken of her bravery and fearlessness and said that she most resembled Arya. For Jae standing there looking at her, while he could see that, all of that, there was this sense of something else about her and it took him some time to figure out what that was.
She was like Margaery, even more so than Arya or anyone else and he wondered if that was why he'd fallen for his wife. They looked nothing alike and were as different as night and day in terms of the things they enjoyed. But there was this, he couldn't quite find the right word, it was more than strength or determination. It was just a sense of something that he got from looking at her and one that he'd only ever gotten from looking at his wife.
"It's love, son." she said kissing his cheek as Jae looked at her shocked.
"How?" he asked not able to finish the sentence as he wondered how she knew what he was thinking.
