A gift from the past to the future

Lucerys (I)

"Are you feeling alright, Luke?" Baela asked, leaning close to him to whisper in his ear.

Was he alright?

The question rounded his head several times while he stared at his untouched plate. He snuck a glance at Aemond, catching him already looking before his uncle looked away. Lucerys felt his cheeks burn.

Was he alright?

He could feel Baela's eyes on him as she stared unabashedly. The rest of his family, at least, had the decency to be discreet about it, pretending to be focused on their own plates.

Was he alright?

He'd just woken up, feeling well rested for the first time in weeks, a comfortable warmth against his chest, only to then realize the comfortable warmth was Aemond and the soft pillow he was resting his cheek at, rubbing his cheek against, was the skin of Aemond's reddened chest, which only grew redder as Lucerys, mortified, brought his eyes up to his clavicle, then to the beginning of his neck, and at last to Aemond's flushed face as his uncle laid rigidly beneath him, his eye wide as he stared at the ceiling, unmoving.

How could he ever be alright after that? He had jumped away, wanting to rid himself of his skin and pick that of someone else, wanting to jump out of the open window just so he would never have to face Aemond again and bear the fact he somehow, in his sleep, managed to get through the obstacles – his children, that is – in bed to cuddle with Aemond.

He knew it had to have been him. There was a reason why he slept with so many pillows in his bed, Lucerys liked to cuddle. Everyone in his family knew that.

"Aye, I'm fine." He rasped out, feeling like he was outside of his body as he grabbed his spoon, filled it with porridge and brought it to his lips. Baela didn't seem to believe him, but she dropped the matter and returned to her conversation with his mother over small details regarding her future wedding with Jace, that was set to happen little after his return from the North.

Luke had slept on top of Aemond's chest and he had liked it. Liked it so much there had been proof of his liking in his lower body.

A little hand reached out, appearing in his field of vision from his left side, and he turned to see Haemon grab his cup of water to drink. When the child felt his stare, he smiled innocently up at him, his small baby teeth making him look even more adorable. Lucerys smiled back, feeling his heart burst with love for him despite the small amount of days he'd known him for. Instinctively, he searched for Daenerys, seeing her little hands curl around the bread she was cutting in half, strands of her hair falling over her eyes. He raised from his seat and leaned over the table, pushing the strands away and putting it behind her ear.

"Careful, don't get hair in your food."

"Mhm mhm." She hummed in understanding.

He still wouldn't wrap his head around the fact he made them. Those pure little beings were his children, his blood.

Lucerys hadn't realized how much he'd come to love them until yesterday, when he watched Jon's eyes roll to the back of his head and he stopped responding to his cries. He'd never felt such fear before in his entire life, the panic that gripped his throat making it impossibly hard for him to keep himself together.

He still thought it was his fault, regardless of what Maester Geradys said. Lucerys should have paid more attention, it wasn't like he was a layman when it came to children, he had three younger brothers, two of them around Haemon's age. Even worse, he hadn't reacted as fast as Aemond, who as soon as he saw Jon unconscious on Luke's arms had shoved the nearest knights away, told Lucerys to stay with him, pulled him up by his arm and began to forcefully push everything and everyone out of their way back to the castle.