The Dragons and Their Sun (aemond/oc)

aegon VII

 To be completely honest, he had expected to feel nothing but happiness at the thought of finally taking out his mother. A small, almost not even there, part of him wasn't happy. It wasn't sad, but it wasn't happy. It was an odd feeling. He didn't like it at all.

It was odd knowing he was on his way to kill his mother. Because make no mistake, he will be killing his mother. But it was still surreal to realize. He looked at Laenor, who was quietly eating his sandwich. The older man didn't seem to be nervous at all. Aegon wondered if that's what he was feeling. Nervous. He shook the thought away; he wasn't nervous. There was no reason to be nervous.

"Nervous?" Laenor asked after he took a gulp of his water skin. They were currently about halfway to Oldtown. It was dark out, and it would be light by the time they got there. They only stopped to give the dragons a break. Two and ten hours is a lot of flying. Aegon stared at him, wondering if he could read minds.

"I can't read minds. I just know you too well," Laenor spoke when Aegon didn't. It did nothing to convince Aegon that he didn't. Aegon didn't exhibit any signs of nervousness, so how could Laenor know?

Laenor was smiling in amusement at him. Aegon took a bite of his food, speaking through his bites, "You're doing a shit job in convincing me you can't read minds."

Laenor sighed through his smile, "I've known you since you were a baby, Aegon. I know how you get when you're nervous. There's no shame in it."

"I'm not nervous," Aegon denied. He wasn't nervous.

"No? Forgive me for assuming, then," Laenor said lightly before going back to his sandwich. Aegon narrowed his eyes at him. He knew what the older man was trying to do. He used to do it when he was younger. He did it to all of the children. Luke still falls for it. Aegon wasn't a child anymore; he wasn't going to fall for it.

Though, talking through it could help. He cursed his inner self for damning him with this stupid 'self discovery' journey he was currently on. He was perfectly fine keeping all of his inner demons just that. Inner demons. Irrationally, he cursed Aurora, too. Her being taken has made him realize just how much he treasures his family. All of them, not just Aurora. Though, he does treasure her the most. The thought of anything happening to any member of his family caused his stomach to turn uncomfortably. He loves his family, and he, sometimes, wants them to know. He cursed himself for maturing. Why couldn't he stay the same way forever? He was fine with it.

Fuck, he sighed angrily to himself. He was going to fall for it. He wanted to talk to Laenor. Aegon rubbed an angry hand over his face, trying to figure out just what he was feeling. He sighed again, "I'm not nervous. I have no reason to be."

His tone wasn't even convincing to his own ears, but Laenor nodded, "I'm nervous."

Aegon looked at him. Laenor was the very picture of calm. "You're fucking with me."

Laenor's laugh was quiet, "I promise I'm not. Killing someone is never an easy feat. At least, it never is for me. I imagine how you're feeling isn't too different from how I felt knowing I was about to kill someone. Only it must be worse for you; it's your mother."

Aegon's body screamed at him to get out. Leave the conversation. It was too intimate. Too personal. He fought his instinct. He needed this. He thought of Laenor's words. He's completely forgotten that Laenor is a soldier. He's killed before.

"Who was it?" Aegon asked, keeping his eyes on his sandwich.

"Someone from the Triarchy. I do not know his name," Laenor told him, his voice quiet.

"Did you cry?" Aegon wasn't asking to be cruel.

Laenor chuckled, taking another bite, "Like a baby."