[ Okay but he really wanted to know what dreamwalker is???? ]
...for what? Your family's accusation has been made already.
[ Which Tim has supported by standing beside Alicent, but he'll hold off on his vote officially until the last possible moment. In case any more compelling evidence comes to light than the name he gave himself. ]
Give me 15 minutes.
[ He's there in 10. His father taught him that on time means five minutes early. ]
[ ten minutes. he's learned to read the watches here now, the numerical way they count the hours. seconds to minutes to hours; each hour numbered beginning from midnight onwards. it's neater, truthfully. he prefers it himself.
he's leaning on the wall just outside his mother's room, and for tonight his hair is come loose, spilling over his shoulders unbound. his posture had slackened, though it might not look like it; slack for aemond still looks rigid enough.
when tim approaches, aemond turns his head slow to him. looks at him properly with his one good eye. ]
[ He is stressed. Tim has spent the last few years embroiled in politics, witch-hunts, and hearing that have ruined people's lives, and he left that life for good reason. He isn't happy to be back in the thick of it, to have his speculation about Alia, a friend, cause so much fighting among the manor's guests. But his loyalty to Alicent is strong, and Aemond too, by association. ]
I am. There's been seven deaths in the last week, with no end in sight.
[ there is a lot packed into that sound. agreement, humor, displeasure, a low-thrumming anger. tiredness, as well. aemond slowly moves away from the wall and pins his gaze to tim, walks to him with the stalking grace of someone all too used to occupying a room and centering all attention onto himself. there's nothing arrogant about it. he simply is. ]
We expected opposition from the beginning. [ he reaches out and up to tim's collar. what a strange shape it is, he thinks, smoothing it out with the back of his knuckles. ] These things tend to progress quickly, unfortunately.
[ knuckles remain pressed to the hollow of tim's throat, like he's counting the beat of his pulse. maybe he is. ]
And you've been loyal. More than I thought anyone would be, for my mother.
[ Tim's eyes dart down towards Aemond's hand, and then back up to his face. It's unusual, but he doesn't shy away, just looking at him, questioning. ]
We've been close since she showed up here, like I said. She's been understanding, towards me. It might sound unlikely, but there are struggles that we share.
[ Or shared. From the way he speaks of her, he must assume that Aemond knows not his mother's true feelings for Rhaenyra. With Embry gone, Tim is the only one who does. There's a bond there forged in steel, the ache of longing for what's wrong for you, in a world that wouldn't have it. Everyone else here is so much freer, they don't understand the fear that Tim and Alicent do. ]
And I saved her once. It will have been a waste if I let any harm come to her now.
A blood debt. And you still give of yourself more than ever. You're a worthy man, Tim Laughlin.
[ and unlike the kiss he had bestowed on aegon, aemond cups tim's face with both hands pulls him close, kisses his forehead like a brother might, and his cheeks, his brow, the corner of his mouth. ]
[ There's much about the customs of Westeros that Tim does not yet know, but Aemond's words - those he understands, and the tone with which he delivers he ones he doesn't - imply a sort of ritual, a ceremonial nature to his touch that sets him at ease. He's still, but not stiff, relaxed as Aemond kisses his forehead, his cheeks, the edge of his mouth that turns into a gentle smile when he pulls back. ]
[ everything is moving slow tonight. even the air seems to still, and aemond moves as though a cat lazing in moonlight, a sharp and knifelike smile cutting its way across his face. ]
Valonqar? It means brother.
We are joined as brothers now, Laughlin. You've as good as bled for our house. I should not forget it. Nor should you.
[ he has to let tim go eventually, doesn't he? ]
Do you think it possible to be proud of someone who isn't family?
[ Repeated back softly, as best he can, though his accent is decidedly American. Tim's hand reaches up to cup the side of Aemond's face in turn - it seems like the proper thing to do, to return the gesture, accept the title. Even with his own vote still uncast, Tim stood with them as they made their claim, he offered his testimony, he gave them the name to begin with. His loyalty has been established. ]
I won't.
[ Thumbing over Aemond's cheekbone, tracing the bottom of his scar. ]
Sure it is. Friends, lovers. I've met people here worth being proud of.
[ he rare allows anyone to touch the scar; he permits the touch only for a second before drawing his head aside, and takes tim's hand in his own. long-boned fingers grip tim's wrist in a firm hold, calluses from swordfighting rough against the thin skin where the veins sit under. ]
I have neither. But I have you now. [ he feels — light, and alight, buzzing with an energy he's not oft known. ] Mother's getting ready, she'll be out in a few moments.
[ his cheek is warmed where tim had touched him. still warm, lingering. ]
Pity that silvered hair won't look so good on you.
[ If Aemond is holding his wrist just right, he'll feel a slight uptick in his pulse. It's the stress and adrenaline of this whole situation, surely, the odd sort of intimacy from the gesture of brotherhood, the vow of allegiance.
The way he declares I have you now - as if he were a suitable replacement for both things - is unusual, but not enough to pull his hand free. Any physical comforts from someone he can trust are welcome. ]
It would look awful on me. But she won't stick out so much, with my brown around.
Pity, too, that you think my mother comely only as a man might see a painting. Your interests lie elsewhere, as you've said.
[ and he does have a decent shade of brown.
whatever it is, aemond feels himself move before he realises it, pulling tim to him and kissing him properly on the mouth. there is nothing brotherly about it; there is a pained hunger in his restraint, a roiling heat in the way aemond slips his hand to the base of tim's nape to hold him steady.
what's a little kiss between family? they're brothers now. he makes it so. ]
[ He feels the pull, and despite his confusion, he doesn't fight it. Tim would struggle to explain why if you asked - every emotion is running high, he feels newly bonded to him, he's weak and afraid and ready to cave to any genuine affection - he hasn't thought about Aemond this way, hadn't considered any of Alicent's family, on principle. His web of entanglements is messy enough as it is.
Still, he kisses back, softly, held in place right where Aemond wants him. Tim trusts that he would unhand him if he wanted him to. Maybe that's why. ]
...and yours?
[ That's gay behavior where he comes from, brother. ]
[ pillowing a man is fine, as long as he isn't receiving. some useless wisdom heard from the whorehouses his brother so loves. aemond doesn't care that he remembers it now. ]
I am ever loyal to House Targaryen. Blood of my blood, kin of my kin, dragons us all.
I welcome you now, Tim Laughlin. [ and tighter, nails digging into the skin of tim's neck, just enough to remind him of his hold. ] If you betray my mother, I will never forget it.
[ he kisses tim again, more forcefully this time, more teeth and a grasping need to devour. ]
[ Tim is ready this time, willing to match the energy aemond is giving him, clawing at the front of his shirt, biting sharply at his lip not to harm or to threaten, but to show himself not docile. He's proven his loyalty to Alicent several times over, it's insulting to have to listen to this warning. He'd be a coward to go back on it now, and even if he's no true knight, a coward he is not. ]
I would give the same warning to anyone here.
[ Defiant, pulse thrumming still in Aemond's hand a second longer before he firmly pulls his hand away and takes a step back. ]
If you want me as a brother you'll have to believe that. Quit wasting time.
Edited (I'm smarter after my coffee) Date: 2024-10-07 09:24 pm (UTC)
[ blood, the copper taste of it on his tongue. this may well be the first time he's truly smiling in his stay here in the balfour's keep. ]
I do want you, Laughlin. But you might want to be certain that you want what we offer you. The words of the Hightowers are We Light The Way, and my mother has led you to us for true. But I am Targaryen, and our words are Fire And Blood.
[ he licks the blood off his lip, savouring the sting of spit meeting an open cut. ]
I'm glad to know you bite, Tim. Thank you for this gift.
[ he raps on the door, then, and opens it for tim to enter. he'll see queen alicent within. ]
[ Hours later, when the team meeting disperses (let’s not think too hard about timelines okie dokie?), Tim agrees to go...looking for the blood. A plan which makes him question his sanity perhaps more than anything else that has transpired in the last week, but Aemond was right about one thing for sure – it's better than standing idle and waiting out the clock. He’s withheld his vote against Alia in hopes of new evidence, so better get to finding it. ]
Thank you for not saying anything in there.
[ Around Hawk, and Alicent, Koby and Quentin too. Murder drama is more than enough, Tim’s on edge as it is without adding anything on top of it. But it was...weird, weird that it happened at all, weird that he allowed it, let himself get absorbed into the fucked up power play of it all, that he glances at the small mark at the corner of Aemond’s mouth and feels satisfaction where the shame should be. He doesn’t have time for that. Every waking moment (which is most moments) has to be about figuring this out, so that as many people survive the game as possible. The rest can wait. ]
I have to remind you though, of what I said when we met. I don’t care about House Targaryen, or Hightower, or Atreides. I care about Alicent. And you, and Alia. Your histories and your mottos don’t apply to me, even if you call me brother.
[ Fire and Blood. That’s not him. It won’t ever be. If that’s a mark against his loyalty, Aemond should have said so before...well, before whatever all that was in the hallway. ]
What is it that you worry for, Tim? Was there a lover amongst the men present earlier? I do not intend to keep you as one, if that is your worry. Mother wants me to make an advantageous match, however that should happen.
[ he wears the cut on his lip with an arrogance, to be true. he appreciates the pain of it; it's something to focus on, something to feel that is different from the impotent rage he's been nursing all day.
that said; ]
My mother holds love for an old friend who has betrayed her. I cannot speak for the nature of it, though I have my suspicions.
I will not tell my mother. You are free to, if you like. But you received me. Did you mislike it?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
timeasmymeasure
text — un: aemond_ (i just live in your inbox now)
Date: 2024-10-07 03:44 am (UTC)<3
Date: 2024-10-07 03:48 am (UTC)What's your actual question?
no subject
Date: 2024-10-07 03:50 am (UTC)We're in her apartments.
no subject
Date: 2024-10-07 03:53 am (UTC)What are you doing?
no subject
Date: 2024-10-07 04:33 am (UTC)Will you come?
no subject
Date: 2024-10-07 04:43 am (UTC)It might be best if she came here. Hawk and I have taken care of her before. But I'd be happy to escort her.
no subject
Date: 2024-10-07 04:51 am (UTC)[ he almost wants to laugh. what muster? there are so few of them, with hardly enough allies to count beyond two hands. ]
She'd like to see you, I'm sure.
no subject
Date: 2024-10-07 05:09 am (UTC)...for what? Your family's accusation has been made already.
[ Which Tim has supported by standing beside Alicent, but he'll hold off on his vote officially until the last possible moment. In case any more compelling evidence comes to light than the name he gave himself. ]
Give me 15 minutes.
[ He's there in 10. His father taught him that on time means five minutes early. ]
no subject
Date: 2024-10-07 05:20 am (UTC)he's leaning on the wall just outside his mother's room, and for tonight his hair is come loose, spilling over his shoulders unbound. his posture had slackened, though it might not look like it; slack for aemond still looks rigid enough.
when tim approaches, aemond turns his head slow to him. looks at him properly with his one good eye. ]
You look stressed.
no subject
Date: 2024-10-07 05:32 am (UTC)I am. There's been seven deaths in the last week, with no end in sight.
[ Always sincere. He's stressed, but he's here. Duty calls. ]
Is she okay? Alina came at her hard.
no subject
Date: 2024-10-07 05:47 am (UTC)[ there is a lot packed into that sound. agreement, humor, displeasure, a low-thrumming anger. tiredness, as well. aemond slowly moves away from the wall and pins his gaze to tim, walks to him with the stalking grace of someone all too used to occupying a room and centering all attention onto himself. there's nothing arrogant about it. he simply is. ]
We expected opposition from the beginning. [ he reaches out and up to tim's collar. what a strange shape it is, he thinks, smoothing it out with the back of his knuckles. ] These things tend to progress quickly, unfortunately.
[ knuckles remain pressed to the hollow of tim's throat, like he's counting the beat of his pulse. maybe he is. ]
And you've been loyal. More than I thought anyone would be, for my mother.
no subject
Date: 2024-10-07 05:56 am (UTC)We've been close since she showed up here, like I said. She's been understanding, towards me. It might sound unlikely, but there are struggles that we share.
[ Or shared. From the way he speaks of her, he must assume that Aemond knows not his mother's true feelings for Rhaenyra. With Embry gone, Tim is the only one who does. There's a bond there forged in steel, the ache of longing for what's wrong for you, in a world that wouldn't have it. Everyone else here is so much freer, they don't understand the fear that Tim and Alicent do. ]
And I saved her once. It will have been a waste if I let any harm come to her now.
no subject
Date: 2024-10-07 06:10 am (UTC)[ and unlike the kiss he had bestowed on aegon, aemond cups tim's face with both hands pulls him close, kisses his forehead like a brother might, and his cheeks, his brow, the corner of his mouth. ]
Iksā ñuha lentor biarvas isse. Valonqar.
{ you're always welcome in our house. brother. }
no subject
Date: 2024-10-07 06:30 am (UTC)What does that mean?
no subject
Date: 2024-10-07 12:55 pm (UTC)Valonqar? It means brother.
We are joined as brothers now, Laughlin. You've as good as bled for our house. I should not forget it. Nor should you.
[ he has to let tim go eventually, doesn't he? ]
Do you think it possible to be proud of someone who isn't family?
no subject
Date: 2024-10-07 01:18 pm (UTC)[ Repeated back softly, as best he can, though his accent is decidedly American. Tim's hand reaches up to cup the side of Aemond's face in turn - it seems like the proper thing to do, to return the gesture, accept the title. Even with his own vote still uncast, Tim stood with them as they made their claim, he offered his testimony, he gave them the name to begin with. His loyalty has been established. ]
I won't.
[ Thumbing over Aemond's cheekbone, tracing the bottom of his scar. ]
Sure it is. Friends, lovers. I've met people here worth being proud of.
let's pretend all of this is happening after j'accuse
Date: 2024-10-07 01:52 pm (UTC)I have neither. But I have you now. [ he feels — light, and alight, buzzing with an energy he's not oft known. ] Mother's getting ready, she'll be out in a few moments.
[ his cheek is warmed where tim had touched him. still warm, lingering. ]
Pity that silvered hair won't look so good on you.
no subject
Date: 2024-10-07 02:29 pm (UTC)The way he declares I have you now - as if he were a suitable replacement for both things - is unusual, but not enough to pull his hand free. Any physical comforts from someone he can trust are welcome. ]
It would look awful on me. But she won't stick out so much, with my brown around.
no subject
Date: 2024-10-07 02:44 pm (UTC)[ and he does have a decent shade of brown.
whatever it is, aemond feels himself move before he realises it, pulling tim to him and kissing him properly on the mouth. there is nothing brotherly about it; there is a pained hunger in his restraint, a roiling heat in the way aemond slips his hand to the base of tim's nape to hold him steady.
what's a little kiss between family? they're brothers now. he makes it so. ]
no subject
Date: 2024-10-07 03:19 pm (UTC)Still, he kisses back, softly, held in place right where Aemond wants him. Tim trusts that he would unhand him if he wanted him to. Maybe that's why. ]
...and yours?
[ That's gay behavior where he comes from, brother. ]
no subject
Date: 2024-10-07 03:35 pm (UTC)I am ever loyal to House Targaryen. Blood of my blood, kin of my kin, dragons us all.
I welcome you now, Tim Laughlin. [ and tighter, nails digging into the skin of tim's neck, just enough to remind him of his hold. ] If you betray my mother, I will never forget it.
[ he kisses tim again, more forcefully this time, more teeth and a grasping need to devour. ]
Do you understand me?
no subject
Date: 2024-10-07 04:23 pm (UTC)I would give the same warning to anyone here.
[ Defiant, pulse thrumming still in Aemond's hand a second longer before he firmly pulls his hand away and takes a step back. ]
If you want me as a brother you'll have to believe that. Quit wasting time.
no subject
Date: 2024-10-08 02:02 pm (UTC)I do want you, Laughlin. But you might want to be certain that you want what we offer you. The words of the Hightowers are We Light The Way, and my mother has led you to us for true. But I am Targaryen, and our words are Fire And Blood.
[ he licks the blood off his lip, savouring the sting of spit meeting an open cut. ]
I'm glad to know you bite, Tim. Thank you for this gift.
[ he raps on the door, then, and opens it for tim to enter. he'll see queen alicent within. ]
no subject
Date: 2024-10-08 04:11 pm (UTC)Thank you for not saying anything in there.
[ Around Hawk, and Alicent, Koby and Quentin too. Murder drama is more than enough, Tim’s on edge as it is without adding anything on top of it. But it was...weird, weird that it happened at all, weird that he allowed it, let himself get absorbed into the fucked up power play of it all, that he glances at the small mark at the corner of Aemond’s mouth and feels satisfaction where the shame should be. He doesn’t have time for that. Every waking moment (which is most moments) has to be about figuring this out, so that as many people survive the game as possible. The rest can wait. ]
I have to remind you though, of what I said when we met. I don’t care about House Targaryen, or Hightower, or Atreides. I care about Alicent. And you, and Alia. Your histories and your mottos don’t apply to me, even if you call me brother.
[ Fire and Blood. That’s not him. It won’t ever be. If that’s a mark against his loyalty, Aemond should have said so before...well, before whatever all that was in the hallway. ]
no subject
Date: 2024-10-08 04:31 pm (UTC)[ he wears the cut on his lip with an arrogance, to be true. he appreciates the pain of it; it's something to focus on, something to feel that is different from the impotent rage he's been nursing all day.
that said; ]
My mother holds love for an old friend who has betrayed her. I cannot speak for the nature of it, though I have my suspicions.
I will not tell my mother. You are free to, if you like. But you received me. Did you mislike it?
(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:cw: child marriages, sexual humiliation
From:let's add internalized homophobia regular tim stuff
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:when massive misunderstandings happen
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:we could wrap this one soon?
From:here's probably good!
From:🎀 done!
From: