Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

  “Why would you do this to us? This isn’t fair!” Viserys whined as Rhaenyra broke the news at the weekly family dinner. 

“Dad, I’m your daughter. Whose side are you on?” Rhaenyra asked as the whole table voiced their opinions loudly on the subject.

“Rhaenyra, please. You’re upsetting the children,” Alicent chided as her sons and daughter went into full blown panic. Glad to see they took the news well. She knew that they’d all be upset but she wasn’t expecting this.

“What did you do to him?” Aegon asked from across the table with an angry look.

Mashed potatoes fell from Daeron’s mouth as he broke into sobs. Aemond sat on the floor holding his knees to his chest. Helaena lay on the dining room floor wailing at the top of her lungs.

Viserys stood up from the end of the table and yelled, “You’re tearing this family apart!”

  Not too long after, she said her goodbyes and made her way to the Range Rover parked out front. None of her boys had come down to say bye to her. Daeron’s loud sobs could still be heard outside as she unlocked the doors. Why does everyone assume that it’s my fault? As she turned on the radio, Maroon 5’s She Will Be Loved played from the speakers. Of course this song would come on. Sometime in the future she’d be sure to sue Adam Levine for the emotional damage that he’d caused with the song. Count your days, Adam Levine. One day, you’ll pay for this.

  As she parked her car in the driveway, she thought of how empty the house now was. Her sons had packed their bags and asked to stay with Viserys for a few days to process what their mother had told them. Divorce was something they’d heard about from friends at school. Never did any of her boys imagine that it was something that could happen to theirs. Joffrey was too young to understand what was going on and she was somewhat grateful for that. 

  Their marriage had been a happy one full of love and tenderness. Criston and her had been together since senior year in high school. On the day of their graduation from Oldtown University, he’d gotten down on one knee and asked her to marry him. That and their wedding day had been one of the best days of her life. She remembered how happy her family and friends looked as she and her husband had walked out of the Starry Sept together hand in hand. 

  However, it had changed within the past couple of years and she couldn’t find it in herself to let it continue. Things had changed and she couldn’t carry on as if nothing had happened. As hard as it was to do, she decided they needed to part ways. The bottle of wine that she’d left to chill in the freezer was now the perfect temperature. Rhaenyra’s downed a few glasses of the cool liquid and then made her way to the bedroom. Silk sheets gave her a soft welcome as she slid them over her chest. 

  The wine kicked in, she closed her eyes, and felt herself drift away. 

“Why would you do this to us? This isn’t fair!”

“Rhaenyra, please. You’re upsetting the children.”

“What did you do to him?”

“You’re tearing this family apart!”

Her family’s voices echoed through her head as she was pulled deeper into the darkness. I still love him but I can’t even bare to look at him anymore. Criston’s face appeared and Maroon 5’s She Will Be Loved played in the background. I don’t mind spending everyday/ Out on your corner in the pouring rain/ Look for the girl with the broken smile/ And she will be loved/ And she will be loved

  It was one of their songs and it normally brought back fond memories. Now, all it brought back was sadness, loss, and pain. Adam Levine, count your days. One day you’ll pay for the emotional damage you’ve caused. His face became hazy as the darkness finally took over. For the first time in the last couple of weeks, she was able to sleep peacefully. No doubt, thanks to the wine and empty home. She loved her children but 3 boys were quite the handful. Rhaenyra could only imagine what her father and Alicent were dealing with at the Targaryen mansion. 

  She woke up a few hours later with a throbbing headache and looked at the time on her phone. 6:30. Recklessly, she hadn’t set her alarm for work and threw herself out of bed to get ready. Time seemed to drag on as she sat at her cubicle and looked over the numbers in front of her. Work had always been something that she looked forward to but now it felt like an inconvenience. The drive home took longer than usual due to the construction on the freeway. Why must I suffer? Both hands gripped the wheel tightly as Rhaenyra let out an exasperated sigh. 

  “Hey, Mom. What’s up?” Jace said as he answered the call.

“Are you boys having fun? Please tell me you’ve been working on your homework.”

“Of course, don’t worry about it Mom.”

Luke’s voice yelled out in the background, “UNHAND ME YOU RAT!” Daeron’s giggle rang out followed by a loud THUMP as someone fell to the floor.

“YOU IDIOTS! Mom, my eye! Luke got my eye!” Aemond screamed.

“Aemond, it’s a scratch. You’ll be fine.” Alicent told him in an exasperated tone. 

“Keep away from me you heathens!” Helaena warned the boys.

  “Alright. Well, say goodbye to everyone for me. I love you all.”

“Bye,” a chorus of voices rang out as she hung up the phone.

In a couple of days, her sons would be back home with her. That was something to look forward to. What she needed now were two things: wine and sleep. Only one glass tonight, followed by some television, and a good night’s rest. The phone on her nightstand rang loudly and roused her from sleep. 3:00. Luke’s name appeared on the screen and she hit answer. 
“Hey, Mom. So don’t panic…”
“What happened?” Don’t panic. Keep your cool.
“We’re at Lannister Memorial. Jace had a bit of an accident.” Time to panic.

Chapter Text

“Criston, I’m so sorry. It was an accident. Please forgive me,” Aegon begged as he looked at a figure hidden behind the curtain.

“Both of you are alright and that’s what matters. No need to apologize, Aegon,” a man’s voice replied.

Did they call him before they called me? He’s here. Be strong. Be strong.

All of the courage that she had mustered up disappeared as Aegon locked eyes with her. Swiftly, she moved to hide herself behind a curtain a few beds over.

“Criston, I’m a little hungry. It’s been a long night. Would you mind grabbing me something from the vending machine?”

“Sure thing, Egg. What would you like?”

“Surprise me.”

  A tall dark-haired man with tan skin walked past her and out through the sliding doors ahead.

“You can come out now, coward. The coast is clear.”

Slowly, she stepped out from behind the curtain and stuck her tongue out at the silver-haired boy on the bed.

“Oh, very mature of you, Rhaenyra,” Viserys scolded her as she walked into the room. 

“Rhaenyra?” A tuft of auburn hair poked out from the curtain behind them. Gwayne. Alicent’s brother. She remembered hearing about him finishing up medical school a few months back. “Jace is over here. Unfortunately, we won’t be able to stitch him up for a bit. How have you and Criston been?”

  An awkward silence fell over the family as the adults kept their eyes on the ground. The children glared at her, already knowing the answer to the question. 

“Did I miss an episode?” Gwayne joked as the children continued to glare.

“Seven save us,” Alicent whispered as she closed her eyes and prepared herself for what was about to unfold.

“Criston and I are getting a divorce, Gwayne,” Rhaenyra answered softly. 

  The emergency room broke out into chaos around them after she said the words. 

“How could you?” Gwayne asked as he stared at her in shock.

Joffrey and Luke put their hands over their ears and sat on the ground. Aegon looked at her with disgust and turned his head away. Aemond rolled the eye that wasn’t hidden under the eyepatch and sneered at his older sister. Eyepatch? Helaena began to weep and begged her to stop using that word. 

“Why are you doing this to us?” Daeron wailed as he fell to his knees with his hands covering his face. 

“Good gods, Mom. Not now,” Jace begged.

“Alright, my loves. I need all of you to pull yourselves together before Criston gets back,” Alicent pleaded.

  Their mother’s soft spoken words snapped the children out of their respective states of distress. Daeron, Luke, and Joffrey got up from the floor and dusted the seats of their pants off. 

“Now, no more talk of this, Rhaenyra. You’re upsetting the children,” Viserys snapped.

Aegon explained the story while Jace hung his head and looked at the floor slowly swinging his feet. They’d gone out to a party at Jared Lannister’s place. They’d had a few drinks and decided to ride their bikes back home. Great idea. The boys discovered riding a bike while drunk was not as easy as it was sober. Aegon had accidentally hit the front brake while trying to come to a stop and flipped into a small ditch. Jace slammed into his uncle’s bike and flew over the handlebars face first.

  The silver-headed dummy (her brother) attempted to catch her son with one arm and Jace fell on it. Aegon’s arm was broken and had already been put in a red and black cast. Jace’s right forearm had a large gash in it and needed to be stitched up. The numbing shot that Gwayne wanted to use before he sutured her son’s arm couldn’t be given until he was completely sober. The first person that they’d called after the accident happened was…Criston. After he managed to get them to the hospital to be seen, he persuaded Aegon to call Viserys and Alicent.

  “Aegon, my boy, you don’t need to drink to have fun. I don’t want this to be an ongoing thing like it’s been for the past month. I love you, son. You know your mother and I are always here for you,” Viserys spoke gently as he looked at him.

“I know, Dad. I love you guys too. We’re family and family sticks together. No matter what.”

“Amen,” Gwayne spoke as he put his hand over his heart.

“Gwayne, these vending machines are trash. I had to go to three before finding one that worked,” Criston complained as he walked back into the room with two bags of Frito’s Chili Cheese chips in hand. He fell silent as his eyes fell upon Rhaenyra and awkwardly looked off to the side.

  “Well, Aegon’s good to go now. In about four hours, Jace will be as well. You’re both free to get some sleep in my office if you’d like,” Gwayne told Criston and Rhaenyra.

Aegon smirked as he got up off of the bed and said, “Respectfully, let’s pack it up. Been a long night. Thank you, Uncle Gwayne. Hasta la vista, bitches.”

“Ow,” he yelped as Alicent lightly pulled his ear for using that language.

Aemond, Daeron, and Helaena each walked up to Criston to say their goodbyes and hug him. All Rhaenyra got were murmurs of goodbyes as the family left. Seriously? What in the seven hells is going on? Have they always loved him more than me?

  “My office isn’t too far from here and you both look exhausted. Let’s go,” Gwayne said as he walked them both to his office. He unlocked the door and led them into a spacious office with two sofas. The young Dr. Hightower always had a way of getting people to do things without any argument or disagreement. Must be a Hightower thing. Alicent and Otto do the same. Her and Criston looked in opposite directions as they sat awkwardly across from each other. The door quickly shut behind them and they were now alone in the room together. 

  “We were gonna get around to calling you eventually. A lot happened. It was a long night, Rhaenyra.”

“I know,” she replied as she lowered herself onto her side and turned inward. Being face to face with the person she still so deeply loved made her heart ache. I love you. I don’t want to leave you. I want to stay. Pride kept her from saying the things she truly wanted to say. Tears fell from her eyes as she thought of how much pain she was causing the man on the other side of the room. Unrightfully so. Criston didn’t deserve any of it but she’d been struggling so hard with what happened for the past three years. It seemed as if he’d moved on from it a lot quicker and she was still stuck in her grief. Oh how she missed her. Her little Visenya.

Chapter Text

  “So, can we get you for Thanksgiving and him for Christmas?” Aegon asked as WWE SmackDown played on the screen in front of them.

“Are you seriously uninviting me to Christmas, Egg? I’m your sister,” Rhaenyra scolded him as she shoved him further down the couch.

“He bakes cookies and buys better presents. Also, you just pushed me. So, yes. Consider yourself uninvited, woman.”

“Dad! Egg uninvited me for Christmas!”

“Will you two shut up? Gods, you’re both insufferable” Aemond snapped from the other sofa.

Two pillows flew across the room and smacked Aemond in the face.

  “Ow! You hit my eye!”

“My eye!” Rhaenyra and Aegon sarcastically whined.

Alicent had taken him to the eye doctor’s for the scratch on his cornea. He’d been told that it was superficial and it would heal soon. The eyepatch was optional and not at all necessary. Drama queen.Then again, the family did have a flair for dramatics. Proven by the reactions they had given when she’d broken the news.

“Dinner’s ready,” Alicent called out from the kitchen.

Daeron, Luke, and Jace came flying down the stairs. Helaena slowly climbed down the steps shaking her head as she did so. Aegon, Rhaenyra, and Aemond followed behind. 

  “Steak? How am I supposed to cut this?” Aegon asked as he looked around the table.

With an exasperated sigh, Rhaenyra grabbed his plate and began to cut up his sirloin for him. 

“Thanks, maybe I’ll change my mind and invite you over for Easter as well.”

“You were going to take that from me too? What other holidays are you taking from me?”

“Egg, stop uninviting your sister to things please,” Viserys sighed as he rubbed his temples.

“You don’t have to worry about the Fourth, he’s not coming. Said he already had plans for the day,” Aemond told his older sister nonchalantly. 

Both of Criston’s parents passed away. He always spends the holidays with us. Where is he going? And with who?”

  Rhaenyra’s eyes darted over to Aegon as he went quiet. He knows something.

Aegon rose up from his seat and said, “I have to use the bathroom. I’ll be right back.”

Alicent replied, “Okay, my love. Dessert will be out soon. Pecan pie. Your favorite.”

“Alicent, do you have a sweater I can borrow? It’s a little chilly in here.”

“Oh yes, Rhaenyra. Up in my closet to the left.”

Quickly, she made her way up the stairs and burst into Aegon’s room. The teenage boy’s eyes went wide, he let out a high pitched squeal and ran for the already closed door. With a surprising amount of strength, she lifted the silver-haired boy and pinned him to the wall.

  “Damn, Rhae. That was pretty impressive, have you been doing something different?”

“Hot yoga, five times a week. Not gonna lie I’ve been feeling pretty great.”

“Well, you look great. Maybe I should give it a try.”

“Thanks, Egg. I- tell me what you know and tell me now.

“Not much to be honest. Something about lessons.”

“Lessons?” She asked. “Do you still have his location?”

“What do I get out of it?”

“What do you want?”

“Dairy queen closes in 10 minutes,” Aegon told her as she dropped him to the ground. A loud thump echoed through the room followed by an ouch.

  “Nice set of new wheels. Thanks for letting me drive.”

Rhaenyra glared at him from the passenger seat with her arms crossed. Criston’s location had led them to a dance studio across town. An ultimatum had been given: let him drive the car or the location wouldn’t be shared. A dark-haired woman with green eyes came into view with a huge grin on her face. Her and Criston were the only ones in the studio. Both were locked in a rather intimate dance. Wait, is that-?

“Alys Rivers?! Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me.”

  “Who?” Aegon asked as he stared at the woman.

“I knew her in high school, she-“

“She’s pretty hot. Total milf,” Aegon stopped  as he looked over at his sister whose ears burned red with rage. “Not as pretty as you, of course,” he laughed awkwardly.

“Alys is a classless, dirty troll who tried to take Criston from me in senior year of high school,” Rhaenyra explained as she sat up higher in her seat. 

“Dirty troll, got it. They’re just dance lessons. There’s nothing to worry about.”

The conversation was cut short as Alys pulled Criston closer to her and fluttered her eyelashes at him.

“Oh…oh. Yeah, okay. Um,” her brother mumbled as an awkward silence filled the car.

  “Rhaenyra, no!” He yelled as she opened the car door and jumped out.

Time to give Rivers what I should’ve given her years ago.

“Wait, hold on! You’re about to get me in trouble! He’s gonna be so mad at me!”

“Whose side are you on? I’m your sister.”

“And I love you but I think you’re making a mistake. He loves you, he’s good to you, and all he ever wanted to do was make you happy.”

Jimmy Choo heels came to a halt and she whispered, “I miss her. All of the time.”

“Visenya?” Her brother asked solemnly. 

“Yes, but that’s not what we’re here for. We’ll talk about it later.”

“Okay.”

  As they both looked inside the studio, Alys leaned in towards Criston with hazy eyes.

“Screw it. Get her, Rhae,” Aegon encouraged her as she removed her heels and handed them over to him.

Both siblings ran towards the studio and Aegon pounded on the double-glazed doors.

“Get away from my brother, Alys!”

Criston approached the door with a confused look and opened it. Rhaenyra came flying through with a crazed look in her eyes, tackled Alys and yelled, “Bitch!”

“Aegon, help me!” Criston begged as he attempted to pull Rhaenyra off. 

The boy rolled his eyes as he lowered his phone to stop recording. 

“When did she get so strong?”

“Hot yoga. She goes five times a week. Might have to give it a try.”

Chapter Text

This is another fic that I’ll be fixing to give you guys a (hopefully) better reading experience. Thank you to all who have read and supported my work🥰