Work Text:
Rhaella was exhausted. It felt like, since Black Friday, the business simply hadn’t let up. Customers came as an endless wave, every bit as formidable and wretched as the hoards in the stories of the Long Night. How had it come to this?
As she rang up a customer, she thought on her situation. Her husband’s pension had been delayed. The survivor’s benefits owed her, and her daughter, had not come in for months. It seemed, perhaps, someone new to the office that dealt with these things had come across his file and found a discrepancy. She’d been told the review would be fine, but in the meantime she had to make ends meet.
And, so, she had begun working again, taking up a retail position she’d had as a teenager. Bad enough she’d had to pull Dany from her academy and enroll her in public school, but this? Her family had been a dynasty, once. Now she was budgeting. She knew, in part, that she could ask Viserys for assistance. He was doing well for himself, but she refused to turn to her son for help.
The sound of the checkout counter rang in her ears. She brushed a silver hair from her face, and wondered if it was possible to go numb to it, if that would be better. But even as she thought this, there was a commotion in a nearby aisle, yet another customer fight over gods knew what. She was about to call for someone when there was a flash of black hair.
A young man got between the two customers, trying to settle it. One of the customers put hands on him, and the young man decked him. He must have been quite strong for one so young, as the offending customer fell to the floor. Eventually, the young man approached and she realized it was Dany’s little boyfriend. The Snow boy.
“Mrs.Targaryen,” he said, offering a smile. In spite of her fatigue, she gave one back. “Dany sent me with this, said you forgot it.” He held up a brown paper bag. Her lunch. She looked at the clock. An hour past when she was supposed to go on break, and she didn’t even realize she'd forgotten it.
“Thank you,” she said. “Jon, yes?” He nodded. They had not spoken much, and she felt guilty for being unsure of his name. Dany spoke of him often enough. She was just tired, that was all. “Place it behind the counter, please.” He did as she asked.
He looked at her, his dark eyes thoughtful. He lingered for a few minutes until her manager finally came over to give her the overdue lunch break. She damn near walked off without her food.
“Are you alright?” he asked.
“Yes, yes,” she said. “Just busy. Worst time of the year, I’m afraid, at least in this job.” He nodded. She sighed. “Can’t believe I forgot this.”
“Will you be off soon, at least?” he asked. She was a little surprised at the question. It was sweet, she supposed, him asking. She shook her head.
“Overtime for certain today,” she said. “Too many called in. I suppose I’ll have to delay putting the lights up.” She said this quietly, and mostly to herself, and it looked like Jon had gotten distracted with another commotion, one security was actually on top of this time. “Was there anything else you needed?”
“No, ma’am,” he said.
“Well, run along then,” she said. “Tell Dany I’ll be home late.” He nodded, and off he went. Rhaella ate her lunch, and prepared to get back to work. It was going to be a long, long day.
***
Overall, it was a pretty good day so far. Football season was over, and Jon had free time on his hands. That free time had been spent primarily with his girlfriend. At first, her many protestations that it was cold baffled him. He'd come from up north, where it was truly cold (though Tormund had come from even further north and had the gall to call Jon a Southron). The winter down here was mild, even though it was now snowing.
Eventually, of course, he figured out that she wasn't commenting on the weather. After a long day that had included running a few errands (like delivering Mrs. Targaryen her lunch) and helping Dany around her place, he had figured out that she was hinting at closeness. Cuddling, for example. And more.
And so, they were beneath her fluffy blankets, panting after a round. Dany was nuzzling into him, and he was holding her to him.
“Warm now?” he asked. She giggled.
“For now,” she said, tracing circles on his chest. “Supposed to be a cold front coming in, though. I may need to be kept warmer.” She leaned up and whispered in his ear. “Especially since Mum won't be home til later.” Jon smirked, nearly ready to give it another go, but the mention of her mother put pause on it. Dany saw the change in his face. “What's wrong?”
“Your mother,” he said. “She was… so busy, you know?” Dany nodded.
“It's been that way for the last week or so,” she said. She looked at him, searching. “What are you thinking, Jon?”
“Well,” he said, “I just… I dunno. She works hard. Maybe she could use a break? If I'm gonna be here all day, I could help clean or something?” Dany was quiet. “She mentioned she wanted to get the lights up… I dunno how she likes them but maybe…” Dany just stared at him. “What?”
“You,” she said, smiling. She leaned up and gave him a kiss. She stood, the comforter falling from her nude body. “Alright, my dear sweet boy, let’s do a little something around the house. And then…” Jon raised an eyebrow. “... I’m certain I’ll be cold after we hang the lights.”
They set to work, with Dany directing Jon on the details. The place began feeling much more festive. Jon even put in a call to a restaurant Dany knew her mother liked, one a friend worked at. Well, a friend of Arya’s really, a pen pal.
“What do you mean you’ll just reheat it when she gets back?” asked Hot Pie. “This food should be eaten fresher than that.” Jon sighed internally.
“It’s the best option we’ve got,” he said.
“Listen, I’ll hold this order,” said Hot Pie. “But you tell me when she’s back, and I’ll get it to you instead, alright?”
“That's more trouble,” said Jon.
“Tis the season,” said Hot Pie. “ ’Sides, you’re Ary’s favorite cousin. S’no trouble.”
“Thank you,” said Jon. He hung up, and looked at Dany. “All set.” She smiled.
“Good,” she said. She walked up to him, and traced a little circle on his chest. “We’ve made good time…” She bit her lip, and Jon smiled. She led him back to her bedroom, and soon had him right back out of his clothes.
Dany pushed him down onto the bed and straddled him. He put a hand on each of the perfect thighs now surrounding his waist. She ground against him, and he could already feel how ready she was. She smiled that sultry little smile of hers, looking down at him with adoring, half-lidded violet eyes.
“You know,” she said, rolling her hips, “it is hard enough to get my fill of you. Then you go and spend all day trying to do nice things for my mum.” She leaned down, her face mere inches from his, her breasts pressed against his chest. “You know you don’t need to impress me, right?”
“Just feels good to do,” he said, smiling. She caught his lips in a searing kiss, and adjusted herself until finally he felt his cock slip inside her warm, wet cunt. She started to move, kissing him and running her hands through his hair. His hands slid up her legs to her ass, giving her cheeks a squeeze. She moaned into his mouth, swirling her tongue around his.
She began to pick up the pace, pulling away from the kiss to sit back up. Jon took the chance to slide his hands up to her breasts, and she started to bounce on top of him. At the same time, he began to buck his hips up into her.
“Yes,” she moaned as he kneaded her. “Just like that, Jon, just like that!” Their movements became wilder until finally she slammed down onto him, rolling and grinding her hips against his until she leaned down and caught his mouth in a passionate, biting kiss. He felt her clench around him, and held her tight to him as he himself also came. They kissed all through the aftershocks, their lips moving slower and slower, until finally she broke away and laid her head on his chest with a shuddering sigh. “Mmmmmm….”
Jon opened his mouth to speak, when they heard something outside. A car pulling up. They froze. Her mother was home. Dany launched out of bed, hiding his clothes underneath it, and then got back in bed, throwing the comforter over his head. They stayed silent as well, and heard the door open. They heard footsteps coming up the stairs, and held their breath. Then, they heard her mother’s bedroom door open and close.
When they heard the sound of the shower squeaking to life, they finally breathed. They quickly got dressed, and Jon went down to use the phone. It was the best timing they could hope to get.
***
Rhaella was dog tired. She got home, and only barely realized that the lights had been hung up outside. Dany must have gotten it done. She sighed. It was a sweet gesture, though part of her wished they’d done it together.
She went inside, and made a beeline for her room. She needed a shower like no one's business. The water was immediately skalding, and she had to turn it down. She needed to get Dany’s shower fixed so that the girl would stop using hers.
As she began to relax, it occurred to her from somewhere on the edge of her consciousness that she had seen the boyfriend’s car outside. Had she missed them when she came in? They hadn’t exactly announced their presence, which generally only meant a handful of things, one more likely than the rest. She might need to have a talk with her… but had she been any different at that age? She’d certainly snuck around behind her parents’ backs.
She showered until she was fully relaxed. She turned off the water, and began wrapping her hair in a towel. Jon’s car was here, which meant he was here, so she made a point to get dressed. Something comfortable, though.
“Mum?” came Dany’s voice from the other side of her bedroom door.
“Yes, sweety?” she asked.
“Dinner’s ready!” called Dany. Dinner? Rhaella finished getting dressed, and stepped out of her room. She walked downstairs, and started to realize that more than just the outside lights had been put up. The lights and decorations had been placed around the house just the way she liked them: the cute little representations of the Great Houses, the big-eyed Direwolves and Stags, the fuzzy Lions, the garlands with Golden Roses on them, the smiling Suns with their Spears interlaced. The garlands were up, the stockings were hung, and the tree… the simple, plastic weirwood tree with the kindly face on it was up, strung with lights, and decorated with little Children of the Forest figurines, topped with a Seven-Pointed Star.
Rhaella stepped into the kitchen to see several empty styrofoam containers set aside, still-steaming food now plated. Dany was placing the last of the settings, and she turned to see Jon talking to a portly young man at the door, handing him some money.
The food was from Garth’s, her favorite restaurant. And, at her seat, was her favorite meal: braised salmon, with a loaded baked potato and sauteed mushroom caps. And beyond her seat was a veritable feast of her secondary and tertiary favorites. Scalloped potatoes, steak, lobster tails… it looked like they’d ordered half the menu. Jon stepped back inside, smiling at her like all of this was nothing.
Rhaella looked from her daughter to her daughter’s wonderful little boyfriend, and burst into tears. She was suddenly caught in two pairs of arms.
“Mum-” Dany started, but Rhaella just kissed her on the forehead, and squeezed her. She let these two darling children hold her for a moment, until the sniffles subsided.
“... Dany said you all had lost your copy of Lampoon’s…” said Jon, finally breaking the silence. It was an awkward, very silly thing to say, and it brought a smile to her face.
“I take it you rushed home to get yours?” she asked. Jon nodded, and Rhaella laughed. “Well let us eat, then, so we can get to that.” They ate, and the food was the best it had ever tasted. It became apparent that too much food had been ordered, and had been done so in order to make sure Rhaella would have lunches ready to go for these next few days, the busiest of the season. Dany excused herself to change after dinner, while Jon insisted on doing the dishes himself. Dany came back from her room in comfortable, festive pajamas, and the three of them cuddled up on the couch with Dany in the middle.
She could barely concentrate on it at first. Her mind was spinning with everything she had come home to. Her house decorated, dinner taken care of, and two teens unwilling to allow her to lift a finger. Grateful as she was, she had to wonder if this was a one-day-only thing, or if perhaps Dany would at least be doing a bit more around the house going forward. If she did, Rhaella mused, it would certainly be worth certain considerations regarding the boyfriend.
She finally started getting more into the film, laughing genuinely at the on-screen antics of House Griswald. She felt lighter than she had in quite some time.
They had only made it to about halfway through the film before she heard gentle snoring from Dany’s other side, and looked to see the boy fast asleep.
“He did quite a lot today,” said Dany, softly. “Things on tall shelves, climbing, lifting… I couldn’t get him to stop doing things once he got going, to be honest.”
“Is he often like that?” Rhaella asked, just as soft. Dany nodded.
“He likes helping,” she whispered. “He says it’s best when he feels useful.” There was a hint of sadness in her voice. She looked at him, sleeping peacefully beside her precious daughter. It was time for a talk indeed.
“You keep this one,” said Rhaella. “Do you hear me?” Dany smiled wide, and nuzzled into her.
“Yes, Mummy,” she said. Rhaella cuddled into her daughter, and even got an arm around her boyfriend, who instinctively curled into Dany. She then settled back to enjoy the movie. She would call the boy’s uncle after the movie. Jon could stay the night, she’d decided. He had more than earned it.