Little Light Strike

Daeron is six years old and he's sat in the hallway of a massive building that could be a palace. It's called a courthouse, and they just had a custody hearing in the family court.

Daeron's new social worker, Rhaenys, is sat beside him, going over the files she'd been given forty minutes ago when Daeron's old social worker had passed his case along due to the escalation in matters.

He just knows that he isn't going back to live with his dad any time soon, and he's being moved to a new family who can start the reunification process, but he doesn't know what that means.

"What does reunification mean?" Daeron asks, swinging his legs as he looks at the woman beside him.

"It means the process of being integrated back into your family," she says. "It's like swimming. You don't jump in the deep end if you don't know how to swim anymore. You have to start in the shallow end and work your way through."

"So, I am going home?" Daeron asks.

"That is what we're hoping, Daeron," she says with a smile, closing his file over. "You'll have supervised visits with your dad for a while, just so people know he's feeling better and he can take care of you again. It'll take a while to go home again, but you'll be seeing your dad more and more again."

Good. Daeron's not seen his father for two months before today, and he missed him so much. He cried when they had to say goodbye twenty minutes ago, and dad looked near tears, too.

He didn't look as sick anymore, either. Maybe he really was getting better this time.

"I suppose you must be tired of all this back and forth," she says softly.

"Yeah," Daeron mutters. "I haven't lived with dad in six months, now. I want to go home."

"I hope you get to go home, Daeron," she says. "I'm sorry you've been apart for so long."

"I just want him to get better," Daeron says. "If dad is better, I can go home, right?"

"Right," she says.

"If I'm not going to dad's, and I'm not going back to that children's home, where am I going?" Daeron asks.

"You get to stay with my nieces," she says. "Their names are Rhaenyra and Alicent, and they have five kids that are a bit older than you. I think you'll really like them."

"Five?" Daeron blinks. "That's so many. Why would they want another one?"

"Because there's more than enough love to go around," Rhaenys smiles. "Would you like to go and meet them?"

Daeron wants to go home, but he knows he can't, so, he nods his head and slides off the bench, tugging at the school shirt he's wearing and undoing the tie his old social worker gave him to wear today. Rhaenys chuckles, taking the tie from him to put in her bag.

"Undo your top button if your throat feels weird," Rhaenys says, and he does, and he can breathe properly again.

"Thank you," Daeron sighs in relief, rubbing at his neck. "I hate dressing up all fancy."

"Me, too," Rhaenys says, glancing at her own skirt and shirt, though she doesn't have a tie. "I'm sure Rhaenyra and Alicent will have some clothes you can change into. It's my understanding you don't have many things with you?"

Daeron shakes his head. He knows his trash bag of belongings has already been moved to Rhaenys' car, 'cause he saw it happen, but he never had much when he was with dad and the last foster homes didn't give him anything else than what he owned, even if the clothes and shoes were all getting too small and his feet ached every day in his shoes.

"You ready to go?" Rhaenys asks softly.

"I guess," Daeron says, standing up. "They really have five kids?"

"They do," Rhaenys chuckles, leading him out of the building towards her car.

"What are they like?" Daeron asks curiously.

"Well, Aegon is the oldest. He's thirteen and he's a little joker when he wants to be," Rhaenys chuckles.

They get in the car, Daeron strapping his seatbelt on as he listens curiously.

"He's obsessed with the stars and wants to be an astronaut when he grows up. He and Rhaenyra are also really into building things, so, he's always getting his hands dirty," Rhaenys says. "Then Helaena, she's thirteen, too."

"Twins?" Daeron asks.

Rhaenys chuckles.

"No," she says, "But they do act like twins. Their birthdays are three months apart, so, we all call them the big twins."

"So, there's little twins?" Daeron asks curiously.

"Not technically," Rhaenys laughs again. "Helaena is a sweet girl. She's obsessed with bugs and photography, and she's the only girl, so, all of her brothers dote on her. We have Jacaerys after Aeg and Helaena. Jace turns ten in two months and he is our little wild card. He loves drawing and playing piano and he's obsessed with the Targaryen histories."

"And then the not technically little twins?" Daeron guesses.

"Yeah, our not technically little twins," Rhaenys chuckles. "Aemond and Lucerys. They're both eight and their birthdays are also three months apart, so, they love being called the little twins. Aemond is our little architect. He's obsessed with drawing up designs for Aegon, Jace and Rhaenyra to build, and he loves his martial arts, too. And Luke is a future Olympian gymnast in the making, or a scientist. He loves both and he's young enough to figure it out."

Daeron nods, trying to process all of the information. He's a bit worried about going into a house with five kids who are a part of a family, because it sounds like they're all really close.

But Daeron's always been brave. His dad always says it's the best thing about him. He's fearless, sometimes reckless, but never scared. He'll try everything once, just to say he's done it. Dad says he gets it from his mum, but it's not like that's a good thing when he thinks about how his mum applied that attitude to dangerous things that made her really sick and turn yellow like the Simpsons.

He'll be fine at this new place. If reunification means he's going back to his dad soon, he'll only be here for a few months, maybe a year at most. He can manage that. It's nothing. He'll keep his head down and stay out of trouble, and it'll all work out in his favour.

It always does, in the end, even if it takes him a while to get there.

Things sucked a lot after mum went away, but he and dad got through it, and they'll get through this, too. All dad has to do is show up to the visits and work on getting better while Daeron behaves himself, and then they'll get to be together again.

Until then, Daeron is going to treat this like a holiday. It's not real. It's not a real family he's going to stay with. They're just like people in a hotel until he checks out and goes home. That's how dad explained foster care when Daeron was volunteered into it six months ago so dad could go to the hospital and get better.

It'll be fun. Daeron isn't worried at all.

The family live in a mansion. It's massive. It's bigger than any house Daeron has ever seen before. It helps make him feel like his dad's hotel joke was actually close to the truth, because surely this is a hotel. Surely a family of seven don't need a house this big.

"Rhaenyra and Alicent designed this house," Rhaenys says, leading Daeron to the front door. "They'll all be around. It was an inset day in school today, so, I think they've just been doing their own thing while Rhaenyra and Alicent worked. They should be done, now, though."

"What do they do for work? Design houses?" Daeron asks, following Rhaenys inside the house when she unlocks the door with a key.

"They own a construction company," Rhaenys says. "They have architects to design their projects, builders to oversee it, and they own several buildings across Westeros that they've worked on in the past decade. They've achieved a lot and they work very hard."

Daeron nods, staring around the house with wide eyes. He's never been to a hotel, but he doesn't think a hotel would feel as homey as this house does.

There's a closet next to the front door that's open, with a full shoe rack with so many different shoes stacked in there. There are backpacks and gym bags and coats and jackets and umbrellas, and Daeron feels a little bit like these people may be very organised and prepared for any scenario. It's a useful habit to have. Daeron doesn't have that habit, but it might be fun to learn that. It'll help when he goes home to dad, after all.

There are photos lining the walls, too, and half of them are framed pieces of artwork clearly done by both professionals and children. The living room has the television playing on mute, a blanket fort abandoned in the middle of the room with one of the roof blankets hanging down into it.

The playroom is empty of humans, but toys are strewn everywhere and Daeron eyes the remote control race car track that's set up on the floor in a crazy pattern, two cars halfway around the track in opposite directions.

The kitchen is the same. No humans, but the oven is on and there's a tiny egg clicking away on the counter and Daeron reads the little numbers to see there's twenty minutes left on whatever is inside the tray in the oven.

He thinks it might be brownies based off the smell, but he's not sure.

The kitchen is clean, though, compared to the chaos in the other rooms. The house looks well lived in, like the kids here actually have fun, and Daeron feels more excited at the prospect of staying here until he can go back to dad.

"I think they might all be outside," Rhaenys says, opening the back door and stepping out. "Oh, there you all are! I thought you'd all turned invisible!"

"Invisible?" a faint voice calls back as Daeron steps out onto the patio. "We're not invisible, aunt Rhaenys!"

"Be careful hanging over that railing! You're gonna give your mama a heart attack!" another silver haired woman calls back to someone Daeron can't see.

She looks like Rhaenys, so, Daeron figures this is probably Rhaenyra. Rhaenys is related to one of them, and the similar names and faces is enough of a clue that he's probably right about his assumption.

There's a redheaded woman sitting beside her, so that must be Alicent, and there's a girl that must be Helaena sat beside Alicent. She's cutting something up for the scrapbook in front of her, a pair of headphones placed over her ears.

"Daeron, this is Rhaenyra and Alicent, and Helaena. Girls, this is Daeron," Rhaenys says.

"Hi," Daeron says, giving them a smile. "Thank you for having me in your home. My dad says thank you, too."

He had told Daeron to be nice to the people that were taking care of him. This transition would be smoother if everybody got on, dad said, and he'd asked Daeron to please be himself, because he was a good kid and everyone would love him if he just let them, and Daeron is gonna listen to his dad.

"Thank you for coming here," Alicent says, a sweet smile on her face. "Are you hungry or anything? We're gonna make dinner in about an hour, but we can grab you a snack to hold you over if you want one."

Daeron could go for a snack. The suspected brownie smell is wafting through the open back door and it's making his tummy feel like there are worms inside wriggling around looking for food.

"I can take him to get one."

Daeron blinks, looks up at the towering figure beside him. He has to tilt his head back to actually see the face of the boy.

This must be Aegon. He's the oldest, and he looks about the same age to Helaena. He's got long silver hair to his ribs, curled in the same pattern as Helaena's.

Daeron gets why people think they're twins. If Rhaenys hadn't told him, he would've assumed the same.

"Daeron, this is Aegon. Aeg, this is Daeron," Rhaenyra says. "Can you grab him a snack and a drink? Whatever he wants, yeah?'

"Yeah," Aegon says. "C'mon," he says.

Daeron follows him back inside the kitchen, watching as Aegon walks over to a door.

"This is the pantry," Aegon says, pulling it open. "You can help yourself to anything you want whenever you want. Mum and mama say the kitchen never closes and we should always feed our bodies if our bodies are hungry. We should just make balanced choices."

"Yeah," Daeron agrees. "Too much sugar is bad for you, apparently. One of my friends had to get two of his teeth taken out by the dentist with a drill 'cause he ate too much sugar."

Aegon winces, rubbing his hand over his mouth.

"Scary," he says. "Come and pick something."

Daeron walks over, eyeing the choices before he picks a bag of fruit jellies that say are made of real fruit juice.

"Good choice," Aegon grins. "Wanna drink?"

"Water, please," Daeron says.

Aegon nods, moving to make him a drink.

"Rhaenys said you like building things. Are you scared of those drills or just dentist drills?" Daeron asks.

"Just dentist drills," Aegon laughs. "I don't think drills should be anywhere near my mouth. Do you like building things?"

"Never done it," Daeron says. "Will you show me what you've built?"

Aegon's face lights up and he nods.

"Eat, first," Aegon says.

Daeron nods. He finishes his fruit snacks, sips at his water, then follows Aegon back outside. Aegon leads him right past the adults towards a fenced off area, Daeron following curiously.

"Aemond designed this," Aegon says, unlocking a small latch within the fence and pulling it open.

There's chicken wire on the other side of the fence, and Daeron gets why when he sees bee hives hidden behind the fences. There's one beehive that's connected with glass tunnels between them.

"Helaena loves bugs," Aegon says. "That greenhouse over there is her bug house. Mum designed it for her. She designs all our things, or she did, till Aemond came, but they work together now and it's way better. Jace and I do most of the building, that way."

"Does Luke not help?" Daeron asks.

"He'll talk to us, but he doesn't like building," Aegon says. "Says he's scared he'll get hurt and won't be able to go to gymnastics."

"Gymnastics?" Daeron asks.

"He wants to go to the olympics for it, one day," Aegon says. "He can do it, I reckon. He's fearless."

Daeron likes the sound of Luke just off that little piece of information. If someone else here is as fearless as Daeron, he can't even imagine the adventures they might get up to this year.

This break seems like a good thing, when Daeron thinks about it. Dad can get better without worrying about Daeron, because Daeron is gonna be okay here.

He likes Aegon already, and Helaena seems curiously weird, and he hasn't even met the other three boys but he thinks he'll like them, too.

"Wanna see what else we've built?" Aegon asks.

"Yeah!" Daeron says.

He follows Aegon down the garden, past a pond, and a trampoline, and a basketball hoop, and two football goal posts, and a few rogue bikes strewn across the grass near a shed. They walk until they hit the trees, then keep going in through them until Aegon stops, pointing up into the branches.

Daeron grins when he sees the four treehouses up there. They're all connected by wooden rope bridges and each treehouse is uniquely different. Aegon's is space themed. Another is themed like something from a medieval story. The other two are similar, but are in two entirely different colour schemes and each of their balconies is decorated with different things.

All four treehouses have a flag with a three headed dragon, though, and it makes Daeron feel warm.

"You scared of heights?" Aegon asks.

"No," Daeron says. "I'm not scared of anything."

"Not even spiders?" Aegon asks skeptically.

"Nothing," Daeron says confidently.

"After you then, Daeron the daring," Aegon says, a teasing grin on his face.

Daeron laughs, running over to the ladder for Aegon's treehouse. He climbs up easily, Aegon following, and the two stand up on the balcony and look out across the garden.

"You really aren't scared of heights," Aegon says. "Helaena can get weird about them, sometimes. That's why she got a bug house instead of a treehouse."

"There's nothing to be scared of, I don't think," Daeron says, looking down at the ground. "If I fall, I get hurt. So, I just have to be careful. Dad says it's called natural consequences."

Aegon hums.

"Wanna meet the little twins?"

"Yeah," Daeron grins.

Jace isn't here. Their grandma Aemma is bringing him home from his piano lesson in an hour, according to Aegon. The little twins are together in Luke's treehouse. One of them is reading on a beanbag on the floor, and the other is sat at the desk in the treehouse hunched over a pile of blue papers.

"This is Daeron," Aegon says. "Daeron, this is Luke-" the boy on the beanbag, "And Aemond."

"Hi," Luke says, putting his book down beside him. "It's nice to meet you."

"Yeah," Aemond says, though he doesn't turn to look at Daeron.

"He can be shy, sometimes," Aegon says, patting Daeron's shoulder. "Mum said we're starting dinner, soon. Don't be up here too long."

"I'll come down," Luke says, getting to his feet.

The three of them climb down the ladder, leaving Aemond in the treehouse. Luke asks Daeron if he's ever been on a trampoline, he hasn't, and Luke is quickly dragging him towards it with a grin and says he'll teach him how to do flips.

Daeron can't quite process the feeling in his stomach when he and Luke bounce around on the trampoline. It's like the world has been taken out from under his feet and he's just floating in mid-air, almost like he's flying, and then he bounces even higher and he's convinced he could reach the clouds if he kept trying to reach for them.

Luke says it's called adrenaline. He says you can get it on rollercoasters, or when you're taking off on a plane, or when you do something dangerous but fun. Daeron's heart feels weird in his chest but the smile on his face is the biggest it's ever felt. He likes it.

They stay on the trampoline until dinner is ready, and they all sit in the living room around the fully collapsed fort. Rhaenys is still here, and there's another woman with silver hair who brings Jace home just in time, though she doesn't do more than call that she loves them before leaving.

That must be Aemma, Daeron figures.

Jace is nice, though, and the four boys fall into easy conversation about the movie they're watching- the Iron Man movie. Helaena and Aemond don't talk much, but some people can be shy and Daeron respects that.

His dad always said everybody had a unique pair of eyes, so everybody looked at the world differently. If everyone was the same, the world would be boring. Individuality is a good thing. It's what sets people apart. Daeron leaves them be, treats them with the same respect he would want them to treat him with.

He doesn't talk about the scar on Aemond's face. He's very careful to not stare at it if he looks at Aemond. He would feel sick if someone stared at him or asked a question, so, he keeps his mouth firmly shut and ignores it.

After dinner, Rhaenys says goodbye and says she'll be back in two weeks for the first reunification meeting with his dad. Daeron bids her goodbye before he's dragged up to pick his room.

He picks one of the two rooms with bunkbeds, immediately scaling the side of the frame to get onto the top bunk.

"That's what the ladder is for," Luke laughs, but he too climbs up the side of the bed to join Daeron up there.

It's easy to get on with the people in this house.

Aemond and Helaena are shy, yes, but Daeron doesn't mind. He knows that, in a family with kids like Aegon, Jace, and Luke, the other two probably balance them out quite well.

He's having more fun in his first day here than he ever did in the children's home when he was waiting to see his dad again.

Rhaenyra and Alicent seem nice, too, though he hasn't spoken to them much, yet, but, still. The entire family seems nice, and Daeron is happy he's here.

It's better than anywhere else by a mile.

His assumptions are confirmed when Rhaenyra and Alicent say it's time for him to start getting ready for bed. He's younger than the others, so, he's going to bed first, but he is drained from court this morning and he's excited to sleep.

They show him the bathroom and how to work the shower, and Alicent explains the different bottles while Rhaenyra gets him some pyjamas from the garage.

"Why do you have pyjamas in the garage?" Daeron asks, tugging his t-shirt over his head for his shower.

"Because we have a lot of children who come in and out," Alicent says, fiddling with the shower temperatures. "And, sometimes, it's easier to have supplies on hand when a shopping trip isn't feasible for a few days."

"What does feasible mean?" Daeron asks.

"It means to do something easily or conveniently. We're quite busy this weekend, so, we don't have time to go to the store until Monday and stock you up on anything you want," Alicent explains. "But we have enough to get you until then. I've already washed the clothes Rhaenys brought with you."

She had. Daeron had watched her empty his belongings from the trash bag carefully, sorting his ratty t-shirts and too-small pants with more care than they deserved. She had looked sad, and Rhaenyra had hugged her and kissed her forehead, rubbing her back until Alicent nodded and started to get Daeron's clothes in the washing machine.

Daeron doesn't know why she was sad about his clothes. Maybe she realised how ugly they were. That can make Daeron sad, too. The green of his t-shirts completely washes him out, and he didn't even pick that t-shirt. His dad did, and he hates green. It's his least favourite colour because he just doesn't suit it.

He suits red best, though blue is his second favourite colour, and black is his third.

"That makes sense," Daeron said. "So... It's not feasible for me to go parachuting tonight, 'cause I'm busy going to bed, instead, and it's probably hard to go parachuting when it's getting dark. How are you gonna see where you land?"

"Exactly," Alicent chuckles. "But maybe we hold off on parachuting until you're a big bigger, yeah? I think you have to be a lot older than six."

"Probably a good idea," Daeron agrees. "I might sink faster than I float, or a dragon might think I'm prey and swoop me away to be his next meal! I don't wanna become a dragon's dinner. I would not be tasty."

Alicent laughs again, making Daeron grin, even if he's confused why she's laughing because he is entirely serious.

Dragons have to still exist somewhere in the world, even if it is in the ruins of Old Valyria where nobody has ever stepped foot in centuries.

Maybe Daeron will be the first to step foot in Old Valyria, one day, but that also sounds like something he should probably wait to be a bit bigger to do. Dad says he has a wild spirit and is an adventurer at heart. He's destined to see and do great things, dad says.

"No, I don't think you would be tasty for a dragon, either," Alicent said. "Luckily, dragons probably prefer sheep and cattle."

"Unless they're wild," Daeron says. "Dad says I'm wild."

"I think he might be right," Alicent says, giving him a grin. "It's not a bad thing."

"I know," Daeron says. "Dad says everyone is unique and it's important to have a lot of dive cities to make a good balance."

"Dive cities," Alicent says slowly. "Oh, diversities?"

"Diversities," Daeron copies, nodding his head. "I did think it was weird he was talking about cities going diving. I didn't know cities could dive."

"Me, neither," Alicent laughs. "But your dad is right. Diversity is important. The different personalities help make balance."

"It's like this house," Daeron says. "Aemond and Helaena are shy, and the others aren't. It's balanced."

"It is," Alicent says. "Daeron, we don't want you to be upset if it takes a little while for Aemond and Helaena to warm up to you. Helaena has something called autism. Have you ever heard of that?"

"Yes," Daeron says. "It means your brain works differently. There's a girl in my class with it. She can't deal with loud noises or bright lights. She gets upset."

"That's right," Alicent says. "And that sounds like sensory overload. Helaena has that too, sometimes. She sees the world a little bit differently to everyone else."

"But doesn't everyone see the world different?" Daeron asks, tilting his head curiously.

"They do," Alicent says. "But Helaena sees it even more differently than us. It's like a spectrum, or a line. Everybody has a different spot on the line. Helaena's spot is just a bit further across than ours."

"Oh," Daeron says. "Okay."

"Okay?" Alicent checks.

"Okay," Daeron says. "I don't mind. My teacher says that we shouldn't judge people for things that they can't control like autism. They're born that way."

"You're a very intelligent boy, Daeron," Alicent says.

"Thank you," Daeron grins. "What about Aemond?"

"He's just a little bit shy," Alicent says.

"Is it because of what happened to him?" Daeron asks quietly.

Alicent nods, ruffling his silver hair with a smile.

"He'll warm up to you," Alicent promises. "Helaena will, too. Just be yourself and it'll all work out."

"Thank you," Daeron says, smiling up at her. "They're all safe, though? Nobody is gonna hurt them anymore?"

"Nobody is gonna hurt anyone," Alicent promises. "Everybody in this house is safe. You are safe, too."

"Good," Daeron says. "They don't deserve to be hurt. Dad says parents who hurt their kids like that are the worst kind of parents and they don't deserve kids."

"He's right," Alicent agrees. "Do you miss your dad?"

"Every day," Daeron says. "He had to go away, though, to get better. He's sick in his brain, dad says. He says it's not my fault that he can't be a good dad to me all the time. He promised me he'd try, though. He's getting better or the courts wouldn't let me start seeing him again, and they are."

"He's right," Alicent says. "It's not your fault that he's not well, right now. And it's not your fault that it might take him a while to get better."

"Alicent?"

"Daeron?"

"What if dad doesn't get better?" Daeron asks.

Nobody's truthfully answered this question the past seventeen times he's asked. They say to think positive, or not to worry, or they'll explain it if it comes to that, but nobody actually gives him a concrete idea of what the next few years of his life will look like if he can't go home to his dad.

It seems Alicent is struggling to decide between being honest or pushing it away, too.

"If your dad doesn't get better, his custody of you could be taken away by the courts," Alicent says. "In that case, the courts will reconsider your living arrangements. Right now, we're fostering you with the goal of reunification. If that changes, the court and social workers would talk to us, and to you, and they'd see if you wanted to stay with us or try living with another family. Adoption would become the end goal in that scenario, because of your age, but it is absolutely not something that matters to us. You do not have to ever make a decision about your life because of what you think we might feel or say about it. It's your life, Daeron. We go at your pace."

Daeron processes this for a moment. There's a lot of big words, but Rhaenys gave him a definition on reunification, and he knows what adoption is because dad sometimes puts the news on in the morning and there's a segment that shares positive news like animal adoptions and rescues and stuff.

He doesn't worry about that future yet. Dad is trying to get better, and dad is always honest with him about how sick he is. Daeron doesn't exactly know what's wrong with his dad, but he's trying his best to be a good dad and Daeron will give him time.

Besides, it's not like he's in the worst place to wait for his dad. He likes it here, and he likes that Alicent very clearly draws a line for him in what they're there for. They're not gonna try and take him away from his dad. He gets to make decisions if it comes to that and he prays it doesn't, but it's reassuring to know anyway.

"Thank you," Daeron says, looking at Alicent with a smile. "Nobody is telling me the truth about anything to do with my dad. I don't like not knowing. It's scarier than knowing. My head gets really loud with my worries and I can't breathe properly and it hurts my chest."

"I'm sorry that happens to you, Daeron," Alicent says softly. "If you ever feel like that, or you're worrying about something, you can come and talk to us about it. We just want you to be as happy as possible. If knowing helps, we'll tell you."

Daeron hugs her. Alicent chuckles as she wraps her arms around him, ruffling his silver hair softly.

"Thank you," Daeron mumbles. "It means a lot."

"Anytime, angel face," Alicent murmurs.

Daeron grins at her, nose scrunching.

"Angel face?" he giggles.

Alicent laughs, pressing her finger to his nose quickly before she gets to her feet.

"I have raised five children so far, Daeron," Alicent says, "And I know a little terror in disguise when I see one. Your angel face might fool some, but you're gonna be trouble, aren't you?"

Daeron grins. She's smiling, so, she isn't being mean. He wouldn't take it as a mean thing, anyway. He can be trouble. He's wild. It's just who he is and he doesn't feel like he should change who he is for anyone else if he's happy this way. Dad says he should hold onto that resolve, whatever that means.

"Maybe just a tiny little bit," Daeron says innocently. "I promise it'll all be out of good intentions, though."

That's his go-to excuse with dad whenever dad catches him doing something he probably shouldn't be. If he had good intentions, he just made a mistake and he can learn from it for next time.

"Then we have a deal," Alicent chuckles. "You okay to get yourself showered?"

"I got this," Daeron says. "Thank you, though."

"Of course," Alicent says.

She leaves him to get showered. Daeron spends an hour in the bathroom relishing in the hot water over his skin, and he hasn't had a shower with such a good water pressure like this in his entire life.

He feels like he's in a rainstorm, and his stomach is giddy with excitement that he can't quite understand where it came from, but he's not complaining at all. This house is like a hotel if only for the features like the showers and the food filled kitchen.

When he finally does retreat from the bathroom, he's more tired than he's been all day, and he barely manages to tug on the underwear and pyjama shorts left on the bed for him before he decides to just lie down for a moment before he finishes getting ready.

He wakes up to gentle hands moving the blankets over him. The room is dark now. Daeron blinks wearily at the shadowy figures, rubbing his eyes for a moment.

"Sorry, angel face," Alicent whispers. "You fell asleep on us. We're just tucking you in. You wanna do it?"

Daeron helps lift his body so they can fix the blankets around him properly. Rhaenyra smiles at him, setting a cup with a lid on it down on the bedside table.

"It's water in case you're thirsty," Rhaenyra explains softly. "You press this button and the straw will pop right out. There's snacks in the top drawer, too, in case you get hungry. Are you cold? Do you want a nightlight? We have projectors if that'll help."

"I'm okay," Daeron yawns. "Thank you."

He feels something fluffy under the blankets with him, though. He grabs it carefully and pulls it out of the bed, blinking through the darkness at the lump in his hands.

"I can't see what this is, but it's so soft and it smells like cupcakes," Daeron mumbles, dropping it onto his face with a happy sigh. "Goodnight."

Alicent and Rhaenyra laugh, but their goodnight falls on deaf ears because Daeron is asleep within seconds.

The cupcake scented ball of fluff is actually a dragon. A teddy of one, really, but Daeron just calls it a dragon because he gets to say he has a dragon, now, and he's always wanted a dragon. He has the Targaryen colouring and the old Targaryens were dragon riders. In another life, Daeron would have a dragon.

He picked out a name when he was little and everything! Tessarion, which was a figure from Valyrian mythology and symbolised untamed wildness, according to dad.

Alicent made him the teddy. She's a beautiful blue colour with a cobalt stomach and stripe along her back, and she's exactly how Daeron always pictured Tessarion would be. He finally has his dragon.

It does make him think, though, because he notices all of the other kids have dragons, too. There's Sunfyre and Dreamfyre, and Vermax, Vhagar and Arrax. Even Rhaenyra has Syrax hidden in her bedroom.

Alicent made them for her family because they're her family, and they're dragons. They're true Targaryens. Daeron isn't their family, or a true Targaryen.

He still has a dragon. He doesn't know what that means.

His dad says there is a lesson to be learned in everything. You can always advance your knowledge and learn something so you don't make another mistake again, or you make a better decision next time based off your past learnings.

Daeron doesn't really get it. Dad says he learns English at school because reading and writing will give him better comprehension skills and he needs an education. That is a lesson.

Dad also says you can learn lessons outside of school, and that's where Daeron's understanding stops. Dad said this when Daeron was being volunteered into care so dad could go and get better.

Daeron still doesn't know what lesson there is to learn in his father volunteering him to live with strangers to get better. Part of him wants to be furious that his dad left him alone, but he knows dad is sick, and getting better is important, and he can't get better if he has to focus on Daeron.

He needs a little help.

Dad will learn how to get better. Daeron doesn't know what he's learning out of this.

Still, he knows there is a lesson to be learned while living with the Targaryens, though he has no idea what it is because, by the Sunday, things are going perfectly well like Daeron had always been here, which confuses him just as much as the dragon teddy did because he's just slotted into place like it was normal.

The six children sit in the kitchen for breakfast that Alicent and Rhaenyra cook, and Aegon makes them all cups of tea like clockwork. Daeron's never tried tea before, but it's sweet and warm and nice in his stomach, and Aemond even nods to let him try one of his weird teabags when Aegon mentions that flavour that make the tea taste like honey and something bitter, but it's a good balance.

He doesn't speak to Daeron, neither does Helaena, but Daeron thanks him anyway with a grin and asks what they're doing today.

"Aegon has a football game this morning," Alicent says, glancing at the clock.

Daeron had wondered why Aegon was wearing red and black shorts and long black socks over his knees, but he hadn't asked, 'cause he wears weird outfits sometimes, and it's fine. He's also never actually seen a football match before, and he says this to be met with blank looks from everyone in the room.

"Well," Aegon says, recovering the fastest. "Luckily for you, your first experience with football will be me dominating the pitch and getting a hat trick."

"I didn't know there were magicians in football," Daeron says curiously. "Are you gonna pull rabbits out of your hat in the trick?"

Aegon's smile warms Daeron from the inside out, something fond there that makes it very clear Daeron has got this wrong, but that Aegon thinks his answer was ten times better with the confusion.

It's weirdly nice. Aegon is weirdly nice. All the kids are. It's another thing he's trying to process.

It's not that Daeron doesn't have friends, because he does, but he doesn't have the kind of relationship with anyone in his life when he considers the relationship the Targaryen kids have with each other.

It's not a friend thing. It's a sibling thing, and Daeron is an only child. He doesn't quite know how to be a sibling, and he doesn't know if learning is a good thing.

It is, of course, because he wants to get on with everyone here for as long as he's here, but it also isn't, because, in a way, if he starts learning how to be a sibling, and he goes back to dad, it might make leaving harder.

And, in a way, learning to be a part of this family almost feels like Daeron would be doing something wrong. They aren't his family in the way that they're family to each other.

This is temporary for Daeron, and he doesn't want to upset dad when he goes home by missing the Targaryens, and he knows he will miss them already because he really likes it here.

He stews on this during the drive to the football fields Aegon plays on with his team. There's too many of them to fit in the seven seater car and, according to Jace, Rhaenyra is not caving on a mini van after the excess of dad jokes the kids gave Rhaenyra after their family holiday last year.

So, they split into two cars. Alicent takes Helaena, Aemond and Luke. Rhaenyra takes Aegon, Jace, and Daeron. They listen to the newest Taylor Swift album that Aegon is just obsessed with, and Aegon tries to explain the law to Daeron.

Daeron thought law was a rule, but, apparently, it's also a backstory. He learns a lot in this drive, and Rhaenyra even laughs when Aegon very firmly tells him and Jace never to trust a man who's initials are JG because he will steal your red scarf and never ever give it back.

Daeron does not own a scarf. He does not understand what the hell Aegon is talking about, but he nods along like he does, and Aegon settles down to introduce them to a song about shaking things off.

Daeron does, however, understand football. Kind of. Not much. Not at all, actually. All he knows is there's a lot of running after a ball, running into each other, and sliding through the muddy field and getting their clothes dirty.

He cheers along for Aegon with the rest of the family, eyes unable to lose him because he's the only one on the pitch with a mop of silver hair. They're the only people in the entire field with silver hair. People look, but Daeron got used to the stares a long time ago.

Dad says they're descended from Targaryens themselves, though Daeron thinks that might be a bedtime story he brings out when he's trying to rationalise Daeron's daring nature. That's what dad mumbles when his breath smells like hand sanitiser, at least.

He's happy when Aegon's team wins. Aegon does get his hat trick, though he also gets covered in mud, and he's crowned man of the match at the end of the game. His teammates laugh with him before they all separate to find their parents.

Aegon heads straight for Alicent with a massive grin. She squeals, shakes her head and turns to run. Only, it's really muddy.

Like, really, really muddy.

Aegon doesn't even get the chance to take Alicent down. She's down all of her own accord, and she's covered in mud.

"Yay!" Daeron says, throwing himself down into the muddy puddle that he and Luke had been eyeing for the last thirty minutes. "We can get dirty!"

"Oh my god," Alicent laughs, wiping the splashes of water from Daeron's puddle off her face. "Go ahead."

Luke doesn't hesitate before he dives down next to Daeron. Jace takes off running and flops to his stomach, skidding across the dirty grass with laughter that makes Aemond take off after him. Luke grabs Daeron's hand, tugging him to his feet, and he grabs Aegon with his other hand before tugging the two silver haired boys after their brothers.

It's easy to forget, for just a moment, that Daeron hasn't been a part of this forever like they have.

They laugh like they've done this every sunday for years. Aegon rubs dirt into his hair with the same grin he gifts Jace, Luke and Aemond when it's their turn for the dirt makeover. They all steer clear of Helaena when they team up to take Rhaenyra down and make it six out of seven who need to be hosed down when they get home.

It's incredibly easy to forget, actually. Daeron forgets that this will all go away one day. He forgets that, whether he wants it or not, there is a time limit on his time here and he won't get to have this much fun with boys he connects with so easily for much longer.

He'll go home to dad one day.

Until then, though, Daeron thinks it might be okay to stay and enjoy being with this family for a while. It's so easy to have fun and laugh like he hasn't spent the past six months communicating with his dad through phone calls or under the eyes of a judge watching them from their seat close to the ceilings.

He laughs when Rhaenyra and Alicent wrap them in towels they grab from the boots of their cars. He laughs when he sees the tarp already on the seats of the car to protect the material, and he laughs even harder when Rhaenyra pulls into the driveway and he sees Alicent already marching Luke and Aemond to the backyard while Helaena disappears out of sight in a flurry of mischievous giggles.

The hose water is cold as Helaena sprays it on the six dirty people, but Daeron's wedged between Jace and Aemond and they're laughing and running away from Helaena and her hose, and Aemond grabs his hand to pull him out of a well aimed spray of water that he fails to see and, even when the two of them go skidding across the grass from the move and land in a pile with Luke, too, he laughs, and he laughs, and he laughs.

His heart feels alive here. He's never felt so alive before. It's exhilarating and it makes Daeron think that this is what people must've felt when they first rode dragons, because there's no way that anything in the world except dragons can compare with this level of happiness in his system.

He loves it here. He loves it here so much, and he loves the people here so much too because they're so kind and nice and fun. They make him feel alive. They make him laugh. And, despite the freezing water of the hose, they make him feel warm, too.

Dad doesn't make him feel like this, even when dad isn't sick. Daeron decides not to linger on that thought.

This is temporary, but he wants to enjoy what time he has with this family. It'll teach him a lesson like dad said, even if he still doesn't know what the lesson is. Daeron might be a slow learner, but he does learn eventually.

Daeron isn't scared of school. He isn't. He's never been scared of school.

Dad says education is a gift not many people are given for free. Dad says every day in school can change his life if he tries hard and puts in the work. One day, dad says, all the little things he didn't think were important to learn would help him.

So, Daeron is almost happy to be going to school on Monday morning.

He goes to the same school as the other kids. He's never noticed them before, but they keep the years separated on the yard after a fight a few years ago between a five year old and an eleven year old that other kids got involved in. It's a safety measure, but Daeron feels a bit better about going back now he knows that three kids he knows are gonna be in school with him.

Aegon and Helaena go to the high school. They're in year eight, and they'll be going to year nine in just a few months after summer break. Jace is in year five, though he's one of the youngest kids in his year because his birthday is in July.

Luke and Aemond are in year three, and Daeron is in year one. He's younger than all of them by a lot. He knows that Jace will leave the school around this time next year. He knows Luke and Aemond will leave the school another two years after that.

He'll be on his own, but he'll probably be back with dad by then. Maybe they'll all still be friends, though, but they could think they're too old for Daeron by then. They'll have no reason to still be friends with him and hang out with him when he's back with his dad, anyway, and Daeron doesn't know why the thought hurts so much when he's only been here for a weekend.

He just fits in really well here, even though Aemond and Helaena haven't spoken directly to him. He knows they like him. He's good at reading people. He knows Aemond likes him because he held his hand and pulled him out of the way of the hose, and he knows Helaena likes him because she didn't spray him as much as the others because he's smaller than the rest of them and can't run away as quickly.

He knows Aegon likes him because they've got on since the moment Daeron stepped into this house, same with Luke and Jace. And he knows Rhaenyra and Alicent like him because they laugh at the jokes he tells over breakfast while they make everybody a morning cup of tea while they eat and Rhaenyra packs lunches.

Daeron's never had a real breakfast routine before he went into foster care. It's almost ironic that it's only been away from his father that he has the traditional childhood things his teachers talk about when they go through routines in their lesson about telling the time.

He was lucky if he ever got to school on time before foster care, which did make him think dad might be telling fibs about school being so important, 'cause dad was always on time to meet his friend in the parking lot and he always said that wasn't important, but he was on time, so, that meant school mustn't actually be that important.

Still, though. It's not something to figure out today, especially not when his breakfast is a full fry up that Aegon helps Alicent make.

"You're really good at cooking," Daeron says, cutting up his sausages carefully.

"Thank you, angel face," Alicent chuckles. "Aeg might just be better than me, though."

Aegon beams at the compliment and Helaena laughs beside him, flicking one of the small braids in his long hair.

Daeron thinks his hair is so cool. They all have cool hair, actually. Aegon styles his in more traditional Valyrian styles with braids dotted throughout, and it's down to his ribs on the rare occasion he straightens his curls out. Helaena's very much the same, though she refuses to straighten her curls ever, and there's often butterfly clips in her hair that add some sparkle to her eyes.

Jace has wild curls like Alicent, and he's only recently started growing it out, too, apparently. It's not even to his shoulders, yet, but it's a really pretty shade of black. Aemond has shoulder length hair, and he keeps the top half tied back like Rhaenyra does when she's working away. Luke's curls are just like Jace's, except they're longer and down to his shoulders. He's not as bothered about growing them out, he says, but he likes how it feels when the wind flips through his curls in gymnastics.

Daeron is excited to see him at gymnastics. He's excited to see all of them do their hobbies. Aegon has football, obviously, but Helaena sometimes does talks in the bug house at the local zoo and she has a photography exhibit to display her bug photos at the local art museum's summer festival.

Jace has piano recitals every other month and his next one is in six weeks, though he's practising like it's tomorrow because he spends an hour in the garage on the piano every night. Aemond has his martial arts championships and belt gradings every few months, though he has a tournament this summer for the Westerosi under 10s martial arts championship of 2014.

And Luke is on track to become an Olympic gymnast, one day, which means he competes a lot. He has a competition every few weeks, and they're almost back to back in the summer between everyone else's hobbies.

It's gonna be a busy few months, but Daeron is so excited to actually see all these different worlds outside of the family. They're all bonded so well, but they're all entirely different and it's fascinating how opposite they all are but how close they are, too. Daeron doesn't quite understand it, but he wants to. He wants to understand everything about these people because they're all just so cool.

It's no secret that Daeron clearly adores all of them on the basis that they're cool. They're all amazing and, for a little kid, they feel almost unreal when you consider how cool they all are. They're the kind of kids he'd see and want to be like because they're all so brave and so themselves in such different ways.

He thinks dad would like them, too. He knows he would, actually. Dad would think they're all really smart, because they are, and he would tell Daeron with that knowing grin that he liked them and he thought Daeron could learn a lot for them.

Dad is very big on learning things about the people around him. He says that understanding people would take him further than education ever would, because human kindness made the world go around. Daeron should learn how to see someone who needs help and have the kind heart to help however he could.

And he knows dad would like them because that's exactly what this family does. They foster children, and the kids in the family are so welcoming and kind to the new kids coming in. Daeron thinks they're some of the kindest and best people he's ever met and he's secure in his analysis even after such a short time.

Dad says, sometimes, you just find good people and you know instantly. You can see their light from far away and you want to be around it and keep it bright. He says Daeron is his light and he wants to keep the darkness away from him so he can be one of the brightest stars in the sky.

Daeron thinks dad does a good job at keeping him safe. He knows dad's sick, but he doesn't know why, and that means he's kept the darkness away from him. Daeron thinks dad does a worse job at taking care of himself, because this isn't the first time he's been sick. It's just the worst time so far.

That's why he thinks he can enjoy his time here. Dad can get better without worrying about him, and Daeron can learn from the stars of this family. They're all so bright and they'll keep the darkness away while dad can't. And then they can come back to each other and be bright together, because they need their happy ending.

Dad says everyone gets their happy ending eventually. Sometimes, though, it doesn't look like the happy ending you imagined when you started your story. Daeron knows his happy ending will be him with his family. It has to be. It's his dad.

He thinks about this on repeat on the drive to school.

Rhaenyra and Alicent have had to split to cover the school runs.

Alicent is taking the big twins to their school and is picking up Aegon's best friend on the way, a girl called Josey that makes Luke, Aemond and Jace giggle when mentioned.

Rhaenyra takes the younger four boys to school. Jace sits in the passenger seat and the rest of them are in the back, Daeron in the middle 'cause he's the smallest. Aemond is wearing an eyepatch over his scar, and Daeron hasn't seen him wear one before.

"Are people mean about it?" Daeron says.

Aemond looks at him, blinks once, then shakes his head.

"Nobody messes with him 'cause of Aegon," Jace says, turning his head back to look at Daeron. "Some kids messed with me a few years ago, 'cause of my scars, and Aegon fought them. So, if anyone says anything to Aemond, I'll fight them. We look out for each other."

"That's good," Daeron says. "I'll help fight if we're fighting. Bullying isn't okay."

Jace grins.

"No fighting, please," Rhaenyra chuckled. "No starting one, at least. If someone throws the first punch, go nuts."

Luke laughs.

"You got it, muña," Luke says.

"Do you like school, Daeron?" Rhaenyra asks.

"Yeah," Daeron says. "I like learning. Dad says every lesson matters, or it will one day."

"Your dad is right," Rhaenyra says. "Education is very important."

"What else do you like?" Luke asked.

"I don't know," Daeron says. "I like doing things that usually scare grown ups."

"Me, too," Luke grins. "Mama says I'm wild."

"My dad says that, too," Daeron laughs. "He says I'm wild like a dragon."

"I'm like a dragon," Jace said. "That's why it's my nickname, isn't it, muña?"

"It is, byka zaldrīzes," Rhaenyra laughs.

"What language is that? High Valyrian?" Daeron asks curiously.

"You know it?" Aemond asks.

"A little!" Daeron says. "I know dracarys is the command for fire! And zaldrīzes is obviously dragon. I love dragons. I always wanted one called Tessarion, and now I have her. She's safe at home, isn't she? I didn't bring her to school."

"She is," Rhaenyra laughs.

"We can teach you some, while you're here," Luke says.

"Valyrian," Aemond elaborates.

"Please!" Daeron says, eyes wide. "I'd love to!"

"We all have Valyrian nicknames," Jace says. "Aeg is byka qēlos, and Laena is byka grēges. You know mine."

"I'm byka sȳndor!" Luke says. "And Aemond is byka azantys."

"What do they mean?" Daeron asks.

"Little star, little bug, little shadow, and little knight or warrior. It's a direct translation for both," Jace explains. "They're all linked to us and our personalities. Muña picks them when she figures us out."

"Why shadow?" Daeron asks curiously.

"Because I don't leave muña's side," Luke giggles. "I don't know what yours might be. You're wild."

"But Daeron won't get one," Aemond says.

"Aemond," Rhaenyra says.

"But mama said he's not going to be here forever. He's being reunited with his dad," Aemond says.

"Oh," Luke says. "When?"

"We don't know," Rhaenyra says, glancing at Daeron in the rearview mirror. "But we'll all be on the same page with what's happening, and Daeron is welcome with us, even when he goes back to his dad. He will always have a home with us."

The boys nod like it's obvious. Daeron doesn't think it's that obvious, because he's pretty sure that foster homes don't let you back after you have a real home to go to. This is temporary for Daeron.

Why would he need a home with them once he has his dad again?

He won't need another home. They'll have their home, just the two of them, and it'll be fine. Everything will work the way it's supposed to and Daeron will go home.

He doesn't even need a stupid nickname. He doesn't want one, nor does he want to be involved in this family dynamic more than necessary.

He's going home to his dad. Aemond knows, which means they all know.

He's not a part of their family.

Not really.

Not ever.

Daeron doesn't pay much attention as Rhaenyra parks at the school and ushers them out of the car. They head into the yard and join the other kids running around. A boy with black hair and grey eyes with a wolf on his backpack sprints over to them and Jace runs off without looking back, a dragon on his own backpack.

"I see the twins!" Luke says, tugging on Rhaenyra's arm. "They're with uncle Corlys! Can we go say hi?"

"Of course," Rhaenyra says.

Aemond and Luke sprint off across the playground towards three people. There's an old man with a magnificent white beard and long white hair, and there's two little girls that look about the same age as Luke and Aemond.

"That is my uncle Corlys," Rhaenyra says, crouching down beside Daeron. "And he is married to Rhaenys. Their daughter, Laena, married Daemon, which is my dad's brother, so, my uncle. But he's only a little bit older than me, so, he's more like my brother. The twins are my cousins, technically, but they're only little, like you guys. Their names are Baela and Rhaena, and their little sister is called Daena. She's a toddler, now. It's funny, because my little brother is called Baelon."

Daeron blinks at her.

"Why do you all use the same names with different orders of the letters?" he asks. "Aren't holidays confusing with everyone's names so similar?"

Rhaenyra laughs, nodding her head.

"It really does," she says. "Your name is only one letter away from Daemon."

"But why do you all pick the same names?" Daeron asks.

"I don't know," Rhaenyra says. "I know Baela and Rhaena were named after their grandparents, and Daena is Daemon and Laena mixed together. And then Alicent and I never had to pick names."

"Don't you want kids?" Daeron asks.

"We have kids," Rhaenyra says.

"Real ones."

Rhaenyra raises an eyebrow.

"I think they're quite real," she whispers, like it's some massive secret. "Unless we're actually seeing ghosts or imagining things."

Daeron tries to stop the smile tugging at his lips, but he can't help let some of it through.

"You know what I mean. Biological," he says. "Is it because you're both girls? Dad says medicine has evolved a lot to let people have babies without a man, now."

Rhaenyra shrugs, looking away from him for a moment before meeting his eyes with a smile that he can see right through.

He's said something wrong.

"They're our real kids," Rhaenyra says. "Families can come in a lot of different shapes, sizes, colours, everything. Blood and genetics aren't the only thing that can define a family. And, sometimes, a biological family isn't the best place for someone to be. Sometimes, you have to build your own family in different ways. It doesn't make the love any less real. We are a family."

He shifts on his feet, avoiding her violet eyes as he looks around the playground back at where the others are.

Jace and the other boy are with them, now, and they're all talking and laughing like Daeron's world isn't literally a mess right now, and he's angry.

He wants his dad. He wants to go home.

"Daeron," Rhaenyra says softly. "Aemond didn't mean anything bad in the car with the nicknames."

"I know," Daeron says.

"And I know everything feels crazy right now, like nothing really makes sense and you're not sure where you fit," she continues. "You fit with us. You will always be welcome in our family. I know you have your dad, and we are in no way trying to replace him. We want what's best for both of you, and I know you want to go home. Until we can get there, even after, we'll be here, too. You're safe here."

Daeron's cheeks are warm. His eyes are stinging and he wants to blame the wind, but there's no wind. His hands twitch at his side, panic swelling in his chest as a sympathetic look flashes across Rhaenyra's face.

Something burns at that.

Daeron's face shifts into a glare before he can even try and think twice about this. He doesn't even think once. He just acts impulsively like he always does, and he knows before he even opens his mouth that he's going to screw this up and ruin things like dad warned him not to do, but he doesn't care.

"You don't know anything," Daeron snaps. "You don't. I don't want to be a part of your family, I don't want a stupid nickname, and I don't want a stupid dragon, either. I have my own family, and I want my dad, not you. You're not my family and you never will be."

Rhaenyra simply stares at him as the school bell rings. Daeron glares at her, spinning on his heels and running to his classroom door like a coward. He slips into school past his teacher, mumbling something about going to the bathroom when Mr Mellos wishes him a good morning.

Daeron runs through the hallway to get to the bathroom. He slips into one of the stalls, locking the door over with a grunt. He shrugs his backpack off, throwing it onto the floor, and it clatters against the door that rattles the lock and makes the sound echo around the room.

Daeron stares at it for a moment, chest heaving.

He lifts his foot and kicks the door with all of his power. It's not much, granted, but his body is moving faster than his brain and he kicks it again, and again, and again, before he switches to his fists and punches the wood as hard as he can until he's slumping down to the floor and burying his face in the knees he tugs to his chest.

He doesn't cry.

He doesn't feel better, though.

He doesn't really feel anything.

Daeron doesn't know what excuse he gave to Mellos when he found his way back to his classroom. He keeps his head down all day and doesn't say a single word, just picks at the skin around his nails as he tries not to think about going home.

Daeron doesn't have friends in the way that most kids have friends. He didn't have a set best friend or group. He was content to flit between the kids in his class depending on what games they were playing.

He's grateful, now, that he's never had a set group of friends. There's nobody to ask him stupid questions and make him angry again.

He's relieved when the bell rings because, for a moment, the thought of home is like a magic kiss from his dad to make a banged knee feel better, but then that disappears because Daeron is not going home.

He's going to Rhaenyra and Alicent's house and he got angry with Rhaenyra this morning, so, Alicent probably knows, and he's probably going to be in trouble, and he doesn't want to be punished or yelled at because he was so mean to her. He doesn't want to go with them.

He hangs around in the toilet for as long as he can before the monitors sweeping the toilets find him and send him outside to the empty playground to go home. He doesn't look up from his feet, standing there for a moment as he tries to decide if he could potentially run away before anyone sees him.

"Daeron!"

Daeron shuffles his feet, shoves his hands in the pockets of his jacket, and wanders in the vague direction of the voice without daring to look up. His hair hangs in his eyes, too, and it's nice to feel hidden. He shrinks more into his jacket, footsteps dragging more as Luke calls his name again.

Footsteps get louder and Daeron lifts his eyes, glancing Luke running at him while Alicent, Jace and Aemond stand a few feet away from them. Aemond and Jace are talking between themselves, and he can't read the expression on Alicent's face, even as she smiles at him.

He knows that she knows he got angry at Rhaenyra. He knows he's going to be punished. He doesn't know how this family do punishments, though.

Dad used to do timeouts, or make him write lines, or he let natural consequences punish Daeron, like the time dad told him not to jump off the shed roof into a pile of leaves and he did anyway, and he broke his wrist and was in a cast for all of last summer so it got all sweaty and smelly.

That was one hell of a punishment. Daeron knew to put something beneath the leaves to protect his landing, now, and to jump off the shed when dad was not there to tell him I told you so if it backfired again.

"There you are," Luke says as he swings an arm over Daeron's shoulders. "We thought you ran away. Aemond ran away once, you know? I wasn't here, then, but it was probably really scary to be on his own. Don't run away. You'd probably be scared, too, even if you are brave."

Daeron wants to run away, now.

It's like a curse. The moment someone tells him not to do something, he wants to do it.

Within reason, of course.

But he can't run away without making it blatantly obvious he's trying to run away, which isn't how running away goes successfully. Discretion is vital, according to the SUV reruns Daeron watches when dad falls asleep before remembering to put him to bed.

Besides, why run away when he'll be back with his dad soon, anyway? It'll just make dad worry more.

So, Daeron lets Luke tug him over to the others and nods his hello.

"How was school, angel face?" Alicent asks, smoothing his hair out of his eyes.

She's smiling, but he won't look at her. He keeps his eyes on his shoes, shrugging his shoulders and moving away from her hand. It drops back to her side, Luke sliding to her side a moment later.

"It's been a long day," Luke says.

"I want a snack!" Jace says. "I have piano, too, today!"

"I know," Alicent says. "Luke, you have gymnastics, too, and Aemond, you have your martial arts, too."

"I know," Luke and Aemond say.

"We're gonna head home, have a snack, you all get changed, and then we're heading out," Alicent says.

Daeron stays silent and follows them to the car. He stays silent as they drive home and are ushered into the kitchen for snacks. He stays especially silent when Rhaenyra brings Aegon and Helaena home.

He heads upstairs when Alicent tells them all to get changed. He ignores the laughs the siblings are sharing and shuts his door over. He strips out of his uniform and pulls on his pyjamas because he thinks his punishment is going to be Daeron having to stay here while everyone goes to their activities.

It's not much of a punishment, though. It's just the logical thing to do. Daeron isn't in their clubs. Why take him along? It's not like it matters if he's there. He's not their family.

He doesn't know what to do, though. He doesn't want to go downstairs, even when he hears the others going downstairs, and he stays quiet when there's a knock on his door with Luke asking if he wants his snack bringing up because he didn't touch it.

He climbs onto the top bunk. He tugs the blankets over his head, but he doesn't feel brave up here. He feels like he could fall with one wrong move and it's a natural consequence; he's not scared of falling and getting hurt because Daeron always gets hurt doing stupid things, but the drop looks so far to the floor and his stomach flips with an entirely unfamiliar feeling.

Daeron scrambles down to the bottom bunk, but he doesn't stay there. He crouches down, shuffling under the bed until he's nestled against the wall where he used to imagine the monster under his bed would hide out of sight of people when dad checked so Daeron would just go back to sleep.

Daeron was never scared of the monster. If anything, he wanted to meet the monster so they could be friends. Daeron doesn't have any friends and a monster would be the best friend because the monster would be brave like Daeron is.

Dad says there's no such thing as monsters. Daeron just has a lively imagination, and he doesn't think before he acts, and he doesn't think before he talks, and he doesn't do any thinking before he does anything because he's wild, and it's not a bad thing, but it's going to get him in trouble, one day.

There's a knock at Daeron's door.

"Daeron?" Alicent's voice comes. "Are you ready to go?"

Go where?

Daeron stays silent.

"Daeron?"

He chews on the inside of his cheek.

"Daeron, we're coming in," Rhaenyra's voice comes now.

Daeron doesn't want them to be angry with him. He doesn't want them to bring it up because he doesn't want to get angry again. He doesn't fit here and he doesn't know why they keep trying to make him feel like he belongs, like he's one of them, when they all know he's going back to his dad.

He doesn't get a nickname because he isn't here forever. This isn't his family. He has his own family and he wants his dad. He wants him, not Rhaenyra and Alicent.

Still, he stays silent, which isn't very brave of him, and he stays still under the bed as the door opens. He watches their ankles as they walk into the room, Rhaenyra moving to check the empty bathroom. He hears blankets being moved, then silence as they stop moving.

They sit down on the floor. Daeron can't see their faces, only their crossed legs, but he watches as a hand sets down Tessarion.

If he takes it, they know he's here, and he wants to take it, but he also got angry and was mean to Rhaenyra when he told her he didn't even want a dragon, anyway. He doesn't deserve her anymore. That's the natural consequence to this.

That's the lesson to learn here.

But why does he care if he wants to go home to his dad? It's just a dragon. It's just a teddy. It shouldn't matter.

"Daeron, I'm not mad at you," Rhaenyra says. "You're allowed to be angry right now. You were right. I don't know how you're feeling. I don't know what it's like to be going through this. And you do have your own family. We're not trying to replace that. We just want to help and make you feel at home until it's time to go with your dad."

"But this isn't my home," Daeron whispers.

"You can have more than one home," Alicent says. "Being a part of our family does not make your dad any less of your dad. He will always be your dad. It's just more people that want to love you."

"This isn't my real home," Daeron says. "This isn't my real family. It's not. I don't get why you keep trying to make me belong."

"We want you to feel comfortable," Rhaenyra says.

"Dad said this is like a hotel. I get to have fun here and then I get to go home. This isn't real. It doesn't matter. I'll go back to my dad and things will be real because I'll be with my real family, not a foster family, and I'll have my real life back, so, none of this even matters."

Alicent lies down on her stomach, crossing her arms and resting her chin on them. Rhaenyra mirrors her position, the two of them staring at Daeron as he hides under the bed.

"This is real, angel face," Alicent says softly. "This is real. It matters. You matter, too. Is this why you got angry? Because Rhaenyra told you that you had a place with us even after you go back to your dad?"

"No. Maybe."

"Do you know what else it was?" Alicent asks.

Rhaenyra looked at him with sympathy. He shouldn't even know what that word means, but he does, because he needed a name to put to the face people give him the moment they find out he's in foster care.

"I don't want your sympathy," Daeron says, looking at Rhaenyra. "My dad is sick. He's getting better. He's trying to be better for me."

"I'm sorry," Rhaenyra whispers. "I wasn't trying to upset you. I wanted to reassure you that you're not on your own here. We don't want you to feel like an outsider. I won't do it again."

Daeron didn't know grown ups could apologise. He hasn't met many who can.

"I'm sorry for getting angry," Daeron whispers back. "I was mean and it isn't your fault. I'm not trying to make trouble. I know you're trying to help, but I'm going home to my dad. This isn't forever, and I don't need to fit here when I fit with my dad. I'm sorry for not explaining it."

"You're allowed to be angry," Alicent says, giving him a small smile. "There are a lot of big feelings involved with this. We can take you to talk about this with someone, if you want?"

"What, like a shrink?" Daeron asks. "I see them on telly, sometimes. They have those chairs that people lie down on and they have the photos of the blobs that they make you describe and they never look like what the people say they do. It's just a blob!"

"A therapist," Rhaenyra laughs. "But they are just blobs."

"I'm not sick like my dad is, though," Daeron says. "Dad said at court that he's been doing therapy. Do I have what my dad has?"

"No," Alicent says quickly. "No, everybody has therapists for different reasons. Your dad has one because it's part of his treatment to get better, but anyone can go. It's just talking to somebody who can help explain your feelings and find a way to process them. It's just talking."

"Oh," Daeron says. "Will it make me stop feeling so angry?"

"It might," Rhaenyra says.

That's good enough.

Daeron shuffles out from under the bed, Rhaenyra chuckling.

"Pyjamas?"

"I didn't know I had to go with you," Daeron says, giving them a grin. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Rhaenyra chuckles, getting to her feet. "Let's find you some outdoor clothes, hey? Pyjamas later."

Daeron scoops up Tessarion, setting the dragon on the bedside table. He's not sure if he's allowed her. He's not sure if he's allowed to want her because nothing makes sense.

He doesn't want to be a part of this family because he has his dad, but he wants his dragon, and everybody in this family has a dragon, but does that mean he's a part of this family? Is a dragon ever really just a dragon?

He decides not to question it and just gets changed into the clothes Rhaenyra hands him.

"Now, we were thinking about heading to the store while the younger three are in their clubs and picking you some things for yourself," Alicent says. "You can take it back to your dad, if you want. You're just growing very fast and you need some new clothes and shoes."

"That sounds good," Daeron says. "I don't have any money, though."

"You don't worry about that, angel face," Alicent chuckles, smoothing her hand over his hair. "Come on."

He doesn't feel weird as they drop the others off. They don't make him feel weird. Rhaenyra takes Aegon, Helaena and Jace, while Alicent takes Daeron, Luke and Aemond. They leave the younger three boys at their lessons and head shopping, and it's fine.

They're not trying to make him feel like one of them, and nobody is mentioning Daeron's outburst. It's a good end to a bad day.

Daeron has his first visitation with his father two weeks into living with the family.

Aside from the one blip on his first day of school, things are going smoothly.

Daeron met Talya, a therapist who worked with all of their other kids. Talya is nice and she lets Daeron look at the toys in her office before she asks him about his dad and how he feels living with Rhaenyra and Alicent.

Daeron tells her about snapping at Rhaenyra. He tells her that he didn't mean to get angry because he knows they're trying to be nice, but he's not a part of their family. He has his own family and his own routines with his dad and he's going back to that, soon.

This is just temporary and he needs them to know that because he has to go back to his dad. It's his dad.

Talya says he's experiencing trouble with adjusting to the fact he's in the reunification phase. He knows what the future looks like and he doesn't understand that it's actually a longer process than he initially thought.

Daeron thought reunification happened in about two months. It seemed reasonable because two months is forever.

According to Talya, it can take up to a year to happen.

It helps explain why Rhaenyra and Alicent were trying to make him feel more like one of them, even if he still wants to go back to his dad more. They wanted to make sure this next year of his life will be comfortable because a year is a long time and he's going to need a support system during the process because it's exhausting and frustrating and he's bound to experience a lot of big feelings.

Daeron doesn't mention his outburst in the school bathroom. He doesn't tell a soul about it. He likes Talya, though, and he likes that the grown ups are telling him things. It's easier to understand when he sees the bigger picture and he apologises to Rhaenyra again after talking to Talya because he really didn't understand how long this thing could take and he needs her to know he wasn't trying to hurt her.

He just didn't know how to deal with his emotions.

Talya says they'll work on that, though.

He tells his dad about the family and Talya. Rhaenys sits in the corner of the room in this weird building, but she's pretending to be reading a book to make them think she's ignoring them.

Dad looks tired and thinner than normal, and extremely pale, but he's paying attention.

He tells dad about watching the boys build whatever Aemond designs, how they're expanding the beehives again, how they're going to build a rabbit hutch for Baela and Rhaena because they're getting rabbits this summer for their birthdays.

He tells dad about helping Aegon and Alicent bake, and how much he loves going into Helaena's bug hotel and touching her bugs because none of the other boys are brave enough to do it except him, which means Helaena really likes Daeron, now.

He tells dad about Aegon's football games and Luke's gymnastics meets where he flips around in the air like a lunatic and doesn't even hurt himself, and how Aemond is a master genius with his sticks at his martial arts classes, and how Jace is like that Beetrooten man who played piano because he's so good at it.

He tells dad about Rhaenyra and Alicent taking him shopping for new clothes and letting him pick out some toys for his room, and about how they call him wild like dad does because he just has so much energy to burn all the time and he loves trying new things out.

Dad doesn't say much. He never does unless it's to pose some wisdom upon Daeron, which is something Daeron doesn't even understand the meaning of because why would you pose a wisdom? What even is a wisdom?

He just kind of sits there and lets Daeron ramble on for the two hours, hums along to what he says and nods his head. Daeron doesn't mind. He can talk for Westeros, dad says, because he really doesn't ever shut up.

"Are you getting better?" Daeron asks before the clock runs out.

"I'm trying."

"Is it working?"

"You're my motivation."

Daeron beams, because he knows what motivation means. He knows he's dad's reason for getting better.

"You be good to them, you hear me?" dad says, fixing Daeron with a look. "No more lashing out at them. You need a family until you can come home."

Daeron vows to be good to them. He vows to keep his lashing out to himself. He will be good and he'll be part of their family until he can go home, because he kind of has to accept that this is really happening and they are his family until dad is better.

He doesn't have to be fully on board with it, but it's the truth.

He's kind of stuck here. He might as well make the best of it.

He tries to make the best of it.

He finds its easier with dad's permission to relax and settle truly into the routines. He doesn't hesitate to play with Tessarion when the others play with their dragons.

He joins in the celebrations for Jace's birthday and Rhaenyra takes him shopping to pick a gift for Jace because he can't make something for him. He picks a new sketchbook and some new colouring pencils that Rhaenyra says Jace asked for but they couldn't find because they were out of stock.

Jace loves all of his presents from everybody. Daeron has a visit with dad during Jace's actual birthday party, though Rhaenys isn't supervising. It's bad timing all around, but they can't reschedule it because it's court ordered.

"Here," Jace says, handing Daeron a tub with a grin before he can leave with the social worker. "It's a slice of cake for your dad. I've saved yours for when you come home."

"It's Jace's birthday party today," Daeron tells his dad an hour later. "They had cake and presents and decorations and all of his friends and the family came over. It was really fun."

Dad grunts.

"Jace gave me a slice for you!" Daeron says, grabbing the tub out of his bag and setting it in front of dad.

He tugs the lid off, grinning down at the big slice of cake in there that Jace had cut for his dad.

"It's nice of him, right?" Daeron asks. "Jace is really sweet. Kinda like cake, actually! Aegon's better at baking than Jace, though. Alicent is better than Aegon, though. It makes sense."

"Did you ask him for that?" dad says.

"No," Daeron says. "He gave it to me to give to you."

"He just gave it to you?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Nothing."

"It's just cake, dad. It's really nice, I promise. I mean, I haven't tried it yet, but Alicent made it, and she's the best baker."

"You can have it. I don't like cake. It's too sweet."

"But he gave it to me for you," Daeron says. "It's not that sweet."

"I don't want it," dad says, pausing between the words as he looks Daeron in the eyes.

"But-"

Dad throws the tub in the trash.

"Now nobody gets it," dad says. "Natural consequences."

Daeron stares at his dad, eyes darting to the social worker who is fast asleep in his chair. He looks back at his dad with a sinking feeling in his stomach, sitting down on the other couch silently.

He wants to throw up when the social worker brings him back home almost forty minutes late because he was sleeping through his shift, not that Daeron would ever tell on him.

Jace is waiting for him on the front porch with a beaming grin.

"Did he like it?" Jace asks.

Daeron almost does throw up at the taste of the lie on his tongue.

"He loved it," Daeron says. "He said thank you and happy birthday."

"Good," Jace says, smile settling into something less excited. "Now it's your turn to try it! C'mon!"

He's grabbing onto Daeron's hand and tugging him inside before Rhaenyra and Alicent can even talk to the social worker on the doorstep. Daeron is pulled into the back yard where the others are all sat around on the back porch, eating slices of Jace's birthday cake with smiles.

It's just them. Everyone else has gone home, now.

Daeron's knees shake like he's experiencing an earth quake of massive proportions, but he sits down on the porch beside Luke and takes the bowl of cake Jace almost shoves into his hands with a fork in the bowl ready.

Daeron picks up the fork, staring down at the cake like it's made of Helaena's bugs and not chocolate. Still, he forces himself to pick up the fork and stab off a piece of cake, lifting it to his mouth and chewing.

He eats the entire slice. He almost gags when Jace asks him if he likes it and his lie tastes worse, this time, because it just tasted like something sick and rotten.

Daeron hates lying. He hates lying more than anything because he doesn't have any reason to lie. Sure, he might not tell the whole truth, but that was different than bold face lying to somebody, regardless if he was doing it to protect Jace's feelings.

"It's great," Daeron says.

"Okay, you all need showers," Rhaenyra laughs, eyeing the chocolate smeared across their faces as she steps out onto the porch. "C'mon. Showers, then we can break out the Wii for a few hours. I think we might beat our Just Dance record with how much sugar you've all consumed."

The kids head upstairs.

Daeron throws up the cake. He can't help it. The moment the shower is running and the bathroom door is closed, his stomach lurches with the guilt of lying to Jace and he's throwing up in the toilet.

He doesn't deserve the cake after lying. He doesn't deserve anything after lying.

The water drowns out the noise. Daeron's fingers curl into his hair and pull at the roots until the pain almost blinds him to only see white, but a brighter white than the ceramic of the toilet bowl.

Daeron cleans up after himself. He makes sure he flushes the toilet and washes his hands, then scrubs his teeth until he can only taste mint and it makes him gag again.

He can't look at himself in the mirror.

Daeron learns he doesn't like himself when he lies. He hates the feeling that circles in his stomach even once he's showered and in his pyjamas. He hates that the feeling doesn't leave even when he joins the others downstairs and sits himself in the corner of the couch to watch Aegon, Jace, Rhaenyra and Luke dance their asses off to Just Dance.

Aemond and Helaena are following along behind them in the space Alicent has cleared, but they don't have the remotes. Alicent sits on the other side of the couch, filming her favourite parts of the songs as they all laugh and dance and sing along to the music.

Daeron's fingernails pinch at his thighs through his pyjama pants until the sick feeling in his stomach gives way to an ache like the ache from when he skinned his knee and bending it made him feel like his leg would fall off until dad told him to stop being dramatic. It's absolutely better to feel pain than sick.

Daeron doesn't like being sick. Sick means he's like dad because he's seen dad throwing up before. He would rather be in pain because that makes sense as a natural consequences for his actions.

"All this energy is a lot, huh?"

Daeron jumps. He almost falls off the couch and his hands snap behind his back as he looks at Alicent with a face he knows is more guilty than scared right now.

She didn't scare him by talking. He knew she was there and he knew she would notice how quiet he's been since he got home.

He's scared she's seen him pinching at himself.

"It's okay," Alicent says softly. "You're okay, angel face."

"I'm sorry. I'm just tired."

He is tired. It's not a lie, but the sick feeling is back in his stomach and he wants to cry as much as he wants to run away as much as he wants to just scream because today had been good.

Today had been good. It was Jace's birthday party and now it's ruined, he's ruining it, and he wants something, but he doesn't know what that was except he doesn't want to be standing in front of Alicent as she looks at him with the same sympathetic look that had made him lash out at Rhaenyra.

Lashing out is wrong. He's directing his anger at the wrong people, Talya said, but she also said he was lashing out at Rhaenyra and Alicent because he felt safe with them and could trust them with his anger.

Daeron doesn't want them to be anywhere near his anger.

He doesn't want to be angry, but he is.

Today is ruined, and it's all Daeron's fault because he pushed dad to take the cake, and dad wouldn't have thrown it away if Daeron just let it go for once, but he didn't, because Daeron was relentless, because Daeron couldn't just accept no for an answer without demanding to know why and why again until the answer was acceptable enough for his childish mind.

"Daeron?" Alicent says softly. "Come get a drink with me, angel face."

Daeron shakes his head furiously.

"Please?"

Daeron kicks his feet against the carpet, but he follows her into the kitchen where everything is a lot quieter. He keeps his eyes on the tiles.

"Okay," Alicent whispers, crouching down so Daeron can't escape her in his eyesight. "Did something happen today with your dad?"

Daeron shakes his head.

"Are you sure? You can tell us, you know?"

Daeron nods.

Alicent inhales, exhales, winces as her knees crack.

She waits, though, like she's expecting him to laugh at the cracks of old bones like he always does, but he can't even make himself to do that because he'd be lying to her, too.

"I'm sorry," Daeron says. "I want to go to bed. Will you tell Jace I'm sorry, too?"

Alicent holds his hands gently in hers. Her eyes feel like they're x-raying him.

"You have nothing to be sorry for," Alicent says. "At all. You haven't done anything wrong. I promise you. Do you want me to come and tuck you in?"

Daeron shakes his head.

"Thank you."

Alicent nods, watching him scurry off upstairs.

He turns his lights off and hides on the bottom bunk under the blankets, Tessa tucked under his arm, but the guilt is so overwhelming because he doesn't deserve her now he's lied.

Daeron cries himself to sleep. He's sure someone, or both Rhaenyra and Alicent, comes to check on him, but he doesn't wake up more than murmuring another apology to be met with a soft shush and a gentle kiss on his hair that sends him right back to sleep.

None of them mention it the next day because today is a new day, today is a new start, but Talya asks about his visit with his dad when he sees her.

He just shrugs, stacking a few more Lego bricks together.

"He looks better," Daeron says.

"Did you two talk about anything fun?"

"Birthdays. It was Jace's party. They made such a big deal out of it."

"Did they? Have you ever celebrated your birthday?"

"Yeah, but not like Jace did. Sometimes we get McFlurries to celebrate as a treat. Depends if dad has money or if he's sick."

Daeron's mood is explained as residual feelings about birthdays, but that isn't it.

It's guilt over lying, and he didn't lie by not telling Talya the truth, but it feels like he did.

He'll just never ever lie again. That's a good lesson to learn from all of this.

He hates feeling sick.

He learns more about this family while he's here.

It really starts with Luke, which makes sense because Luke and Daeron seem to get on the best out of all of them, with Aegon at a close second. Luke has the same wild spirit as Daeron. He's brave to do gymnastics.

Daeron has never seen fear in Luke's eyes until the morning of one of his competitions.

He's four visits into things with his dad. It's nearly the summer holidays. Luke is preparing for a summer of intense competitions because Luke is on track to join the Westerosi team. The Westerosi team is the gateway to joining the Olympic team, one day.

The sooner he gets onto the team, the sooner he's trained by real Olympians with gold medals who've competed and trained for years. He'll be trained by the best and, one day, he'll be the best.

Even Daeron can see how daunting that is, because he's spent a fair bit of time watching gymnastics videos with Luke over the past eight weeks and he's seen how good some of these athletes are.

And Luke is good, because Daeron's seen him at practice, but they walk into the arena the competition is held in and Daeron is terrified on Luke's behalf.

There's so many boys here, some nearly as tall as the gymnastics equipment, and Luke is a small kid, anyway, and it's entirely terrifying. There's an official panel of judges at every piece of equipment and Luke's hands shake as they walk to find their seats in the stands before he goes to warm up with his team.

Daeron meets Rhaenyra's entire family.

He doesn't think that helps Luke if the paling of his face is any indication. He looks like he might wet himself and Daeron is half concerned, shooting looks at the rest of the family, but they seem unconcerned about all of this.

Even Aemond, Luke's shield in a way, seems unbothered.

Daeron has no idea what's going on.

Still, he doesn't get much chance to worry about it because Rhaenyra is taking Luke down to meet his coaches and his teammates for warm ups and Daeron is being introduced to everyone he doesn't know by Alicent.

There's Corlys, who he has met by now during school runs, and Rhaenys, of course, because she's supervising the visits again. He meets their son, Laenor, and his husband, Joffrey. He meets Laena, and Daemon, and he remeets Baela and Rhaena, meets baby Daena properly.

He meets Viserys and Aemma, and Baelon, and his head spins as he tries to remember faces and names quickly because they all look so alike and have such similar names.

They're all so sweet, though. Aemma asks him about school and Viserys asks if he has any clubs he'd ever like to try out.

"Daeron's wild," Jace says, chewing on a liquorice stick. "He'd ride dragons if he could."

"That's a good lad. Targaryen realness, if you ask me," Viserys laughs.

"Maybe we settle for go karts," Aemma chuckles.

Alicent's face pales as Daeron looks at Aemma curiously.

"That sounds cool," he says.

Alicent groans and rubs her face.

"What did I miss?" Rhaenyra asks.

"Mama's going to reinvest her stocks in chill pills," Helaena says.

Daeron doesn't get the joke. Everyone else does. He thinks it's an age thing, or an inside joke.

It's time to focus on the competition. That's more important than chill pill jokes.

Luke is on the floor first. He looks terrified as he waits at the side for his turn. When his name is called, he steps onto the floor and their row of seats erupts in cheers.

Daeron's neck nearly snaps as he looks at the others, but he gets with the program pretty quickly and cheers for Luke, too.

Luke laughs, shaking his head before presenting at the judges and starting his routine. Daeron can't describe any move he makes, but Aemond is making notes in a notebook while Rhaenyra films it. Daemon is also filming it, standing up with Daena on his hip.

Everyone is entirely invested in the routine. Aemma and Alicent pull faces at the same time Luke does flips that make everyone else nod and clap at.

They cheer even louder when he finishes the routine and presents to the judges before walking off the floor.

"It's gonna be a minor deduction for the stumble in the front tumble," Aemma says. "Point two, at most. He stayed within bounds."

"He's going to outrank the other kids on the team," Rhaenyra agrees. "It's a minor deduction compared to Darrik's."

"I thought he'd be more nervous," Daeron says.

"It's a big competition," Aegon says.

"No, I know," Daeron says. "I just mean he seemed okay then."

"Wouldn't you be if you had this lot screaming for you?" Aegon chuckles, motioning to the rest of the family.

"I think it would make me more nervous," Daeron says.

Aegon shakes his head.

"No," he says. "Well, yeah, okay, maybe, but it's different, too. See, they're all here because they care about Luke. They don't care if he wins. They just want to be here and support him. It's easier to not be nervous when you know you have a bench full of people who'll love you no matter what result you get."

Daeron understands that, even if he's never had it to this extent.

"Family shows up," Aegon says. "And we didn't have good families until we came here. It's different with you, 'cause you'll go home to your dad. Family shows up for each other."

"Like my dad shows up to our visits," Daeron says.

"Yeah, just like that," Aegon says, giving him a smile as he ruffles his hair. "You'll get used to it. They do this a lot."

"What else does family do?" Daeron asks.

"Family does a lot of things," Aegon says. "I didn't know what love really was before I came here. I was the first one they adopted. They loved me so much that the rest came easy. It's just family. They showed up for me."

"They're good," Daeron says. "I'm happy you have a happy family, now."

"Me, too," Aegon says. "They taught all of us different things about family. You'll have to ask the others about that, though. Now, c'mon. Luke has a gap between now and his next routine. Let's go get some popcorn."

"Can we go and get popcorn, please?" Helaena asks Alicent.

She nods, hands Helaena some money.

"Boys, stay here. Let the big twins go."

"Nah, we've got Daeron," Aegon says. "He needs the bathroom, anyway."

"I do," Daeron says, and he actually does.

He is not lying anymore.

Rhaenyra and Alicent glance at them, then look at Rhaenys. Rhaenys shrugs.

"They have their phones and Corlys is getting pretzels," Rhaenys says. "They're safe."

"Keep him with you two," Alicent says. "Aegon, stay with him in the bathroom, please."

"We got this," Helaena chuckles.

Aegon takes Daeron's hand, tugging him down the stairs of the seats. Helaena follows them, stopping outside the toilets.

"Meet you in a minute?" Aegon checks.

Helaena nods.

Daeron runs inside and does his business. Aegon helps him wash his hands and dry them with paper towels, then ushers him out of the bathroom to where Helaena is waiting with hand sanitiser.

"Luke says hand dryers are breeding grounds for bacteria," Aegon says. "So, we carry extra sanitiser to be safe."

Daeron's nose wrinkles at the smell, but he rubs it into his hands. It stings the little cuts around his nails where he was picking at them in his visit with dad, but it goes away quick enough.

"My dad drinks hand sanitiser," Daeron says. "Or something that smells like it. He always falls asleep and has headaches in the morning."

Aegon and Helaena share a look. Daeron's eyebrows furrow.

"What?" he says.

"Nothing," Helaena says.

"It is something. You made a face. You both made faces," Daeron says.

"Nothing," Aegon repeats. "It's just that my dad used to drink hand sanitiser, too."

Helaena looks at Daeron, really looks at him. It's the first time she's actually made eye contact with him and something weird strikes Daeron in his chest as she kneels down to be level with him.

"Daeron," she says. "You'd tell us if someone hurt you, wouldn't you?"

"My dad doesn't hurt me. Why would you think he does that?" Daeron asks.

"Because my dad hurt me," Aegon says. "It's not the same. We just wanted to make sure you were safe. Family doesn't hurt each other."

Daeron's dad has never laid a hand on him that wasn't loving or kind. He always said that, no matter how mad Daeron made him, it would never be mad enough to hurt him. No child deserved a physical punishment from a parent, dad says.

He appreciates them looking out for him, though. He knows it's probably hard for Aegon if their dads are similar in that way.

"Where's your dad now?" Daeron asks.

"He's in jail," Aegon says. "I'm gonna go get the popcorn. Don't move."

He takes the money from Helaena and walks to join the line for popcorn. Daeron leans against the wall beside Helaena, looking down at his shoes for a minute.

"Helaena?"

"Daeron."

"What did Rhaenyra and Alicent teach you about family?" Daeron asks.

Helaena blinks at him. Daeron waits for a moment.

"They taught me that I'm capable of being loved, that I do belong somewhere," Helaena says. "They taught me that I wasn't the one that needed to change. They gave me the best family. They taught me how it feels to be understood."

Daeron wonders if this is the lesson to learn here. Family show up, family understand, family love you no matter what. Maybe he'll take these lessons back to dad and they'll be able to be a better family together.

"Alright," Aegon says, walking over with his arms filled with bags of popcorn. "Help me out, here."

Daeron and Helaena help take some popcorn and head back to their seats. Corlys slips past them with pretzels for himself and Joffrey.

Luke wins gold on everything. It doesn't seem like a surprising result, considering Daeron's seen the medals in his room, but the family are celebrating like he's solved world hunger, or something.

It's contagious, though, and Daeron's cheeks ache from smiling the whole time through finding Luke and hugging him and congratulating him, through the whole drive home to their house, through the whole night as Aemond talks Luke through the notes he made and Helaena shows him the videos she and Daemon took.

Luke is a top contender for the semi finals, now. If he wins there, he'll head to the final round. If he places in the top three for any event, he'll be selected for the King's Landing division of the Westerosi pre-olympics gymnastics team at nine years old.

Luke isn't nervous, anymore. He's excited to compete again, smile blinding in the room.

"You did really good, Luke," Daeron says, giving the older boy a smile. "I hope you win next time, too."

"Thank you, Daeron," Luke says, grinning back at him. "Sure you don't want to try gymnastics?"

"We're thinking go karts," Aegon says.

"Have Targaryen dragon's for children, Alicent," Alicent whispers to herself as Rhaenyra and Aemma laugh. "I have enough heart attacks with the gymnastics."

"There's a go karting place around the corner," Aemond says, looking up from his notebook with a small grin. "Can we go this summer?"

"Oh, please?" Jace gasps.

"Please?!" Luke adds.

"It'll be so much fun!" Aegon says.

"I would like to try it," Helaena says. "It'll be loud, but I think I'll be okay."

Rhaenyra grins at Alicent.

Alicent looks at Daeron.

"What about you, angel face?" she asks. "Would you like to try it?"

"I think it would be fun," Daeron says.

Alicent sighs. The others cheer.

They've won her over.

They do go go-karting.

Daeron is actually surprised when they're all packed up into the cars and driven outside of the city, because Aemond said there was a place around the corner, but they pull up at an outdoor field with several tracks and go karts everywhere just waiting to be driven and he thinks they picked a way better place than the one around the corner.

It's even better when another car pulls up with them and Daemon gets out of the car with Laena, Baelon, Baela and Rhaena.

"Joff and Laenor owed me a babysitting favour with Daena," Laena says, hugging Alicent with a grin. "I brought some chill pills."

"I need twelve, two for each kid," Alicent says very seriously.

They have to sit through a safety talk, obviously, and then they're suited up. They pull on racing suits and gloves and balaclavas before Rhaenyra and Alicent make sure the helmets are firm on their heads.

Daemon and Laena secure their kids, and then Rhaenyra and Alicent fuss over Baelon.

He's older, now. He's nearly twenty, according to Aegon, but he's still Rhaenyra's little brother. Daeron thinks it's funny how they still baby him, even when he's grown up.

"That's something else family does," Aegon says, fidgeting with his helmet. "They don't stop caring just because you're grown up, now."

Family does a lot of things Daeron didn't know before coming here.

He knows that's the lesson in all of this, now. He's going to take this back to dad and be the best son ever, and dad will be better, too, and they'll be a good family.

He's learning how to get better, too, even if Daeron didn't really know he was sick to begin with. He never felt sick the way dad did. He just felt kind of lonely with dad, and sad, and angry a lot, but he never wanted to make dad feel even sicker so he pretended he was happy.

He doesn't feel lonely, here. He doesn't feel sad, and he hasn't felt a single drop of anger since his dad threw Jace's cake away almost a month ago, now.

He feels good.

"Be safe," Alicent tells him, fixing his helmet again.

"I will be," Daeron promises.

"You're going to be amazing out there," Alicent says, a genuine smile on her face. "I think this is the closest you'll get to riding a dragon, these days. Think of it like taking Tessarion to the skies. You can do this."

Daeron grins at her, hugging her as tight as he can with the helmet on. Alicent laughs and makes sure he's properly suited up before sending him off to pick his go kart and get strapped in.

He feels something he can only describe as fire burning him alive in the best way when they get to actually race the cars.

Daeron can ride a bike. This is different, but he catches on faster than anyone else. He speeds around the corners and giggles as he laps Helaena and Aegon while they try and get to grips with steering it.

It's not really a race, but Daeron wins anyway. There's a leaderboard on the board outside the safety room and his name is at the top of it with the fastest speed for a lap.

The other kids congratulate him, Aegon ruffling his helmet hair with a laugh before heading to fix his own hair. The others head over to get drinks, but Daeron just stares at the board.

"You're like a little lightning bolt on that track," Rhaenyra says from behind him. "You were moving faster than my eyes could keep up."

Daeron stays silent.

"Daeron?"

Daeron tries to process his emotions so he can figure out what he wants to say, but he doesn't know what he's feeling. His head is spinning from the speed of the karts in the best way, and his entire body is still warm, and his name is at the top of the leader board because he's actually good at something, because his wildness has actually paid off and proven that he's talented at something more than causing headaches for his dad.

Rhaenyra and Alicent brought him here. Yeah, they brought everyone here, but they listened when Daeron said he wanted to try it.

They listened. They validated him.

Daeron throws his arms around Rhaenyra's waist in the tightest hug he can manage. He feels so guilty for snapping at her all those months ago, feels so guilty that he tried to push her away when all she wanted to do was listen to him and make him feel comfortable enough that he'd open up to them.

He told them he wanted to do something and they listened, and he's good at it. He's good at something and he knows he is because they let him figure it out.

They didn't push. They never have. He just never understood why they'd care so much about a kid that isn't theirs and he still doesn't get it, but he loves that they do.

He loves them.

They've been nothing but good to him since the moment he arrived here. All of them have. These past few months have been so much fun that they've flown by and he can't even remember half the moments that helped him realise that they love him back, but he knows. He knows because he feels it, even if they won't say it because they don't want to push him.

They're too good for this world. Dad would agree. Daeron is so sure of it.

He thinks dad would like Rhaenyra and Alicent.

He's not so sure that they would like him.

He doesn't know why he doesn't really care what they think of his dad. Part of him thinks it's because he knows who his dad really is and that's good enough, but another part of him just doesn't think about his dad between visits anymore.

He fades into the background.

Daeron is getting on fine without him, better than the first six months in foster care, and he loves the visits with dad, he does, but he's not exactly counting down the days until he can go back there.

He'd never get to do fun things like go karting with dad. Dad would tell Daeron they couldn't afford it, but he gives a lot of money to his friend every few days and Daeron knows that they could easily pay for more things if dad stopped buying really expensive sherbet and just bought some from the sweet isle in the store, instead.

"Are you okay?" Rhaenyra whispers, holding him as tight as he's holding onto her.

"No," Daeron whispers. "Yes. I don't know. I have a lot of big feelings right now."

"Thank you for telling me," Rhaenyra says softly. "Do you want to take a minute in the car to breathe away from everyone?"

Daeron nods. Rhaenyra leads him to the car, helping him climb into the backseat and then climbing in to sit beside him. Daeron leans back against the seat, staring at the racing suit he's still wearing.

"I didn't understand what you were trying to do," Daeron says. "When I got angry with you. I know you just wanted me to be comfortable so I could have fun and learn what I'm good at and get better."

"Get better?" Rhaenyra asks.

"I didn't know I was sick," Daeron says, looking up at her. "Not sick like my dad. But I'm learning a lot here, and I feel a lot better here, and I was sad with my dad, and angry, and I pretended to be good so dad wouldn't feel sicker, and it made me feel sick to pretend all the time but I didn't mind because I love my dad. I had to come here so I could get better at being good."

Rhaenyra looks at him with something Daeron doesn't know how to explain, but it's not sympathy. She sighs softly, shaking her head.

"You are not sick," she whispers. "You never were, Daeron. Your dad is sick. Because your dad is sick, he couldn't take care of you the way we can. It's called neglect. Your dad put you in care so he could get better and take care of you the way you deserve, not because you were ever sick or bad. You shouldn't have to lie about how you're feeling to protect your dad. You never did anything wrong. I don't want you to ever change anything about yourself for someone else's comfort."

Daeron looks at her for a moment.

"My dad doesn't love me like you all do," Daeron says. "It makes me feel different, so, it's not the same. I'm good here. I'm not good with my dad. I always do something to make him annoyed. He doesn't get angry. He's just tired of dealing with me."

It feels crazy, actually. There's six kids in this family, five of them here forever. If anything, Daeron should feel alone and left out and almost forgotten because this is a massive family and there's so many kids and activities and it's easy to be forgotten in the chaos.

Except, he's not forgotten. He's a priority here. They all are. They come first before everything and no kid is prioritised over the others. They all have different needs, but considering there's only two parents to six kids, they make time and space for all of them to feel equally loved and valued.

He feels forgotten with his dad. Talya says a large part of his 'wild' behaviours are actually cries for attention, except it always backfires because natural consequences always catch up and dad doesn't care either way.

He's one kid for one parent with his dad. Why can Rhaenyra and Alicent manage with six kids and make him feel entirely loved to the point he's learning all these different things about them and family and himself, to the point they gave him someone who can help him explain why he thinks and acts the way he does?

Why can they be the parents he needs when his dad can't?

Dad's been sick for as long as Daeron can remember. Why did it take until now for dad to want to get better? Why would dad make himself sicker by visiting his friend all the time and drinking all the strong smelling things that'll hurt him?

Why can't he just be Daeron's dad?

"Why can't he be a dad to me like you're a mum to them?" Daeron whispers.

"I don't know," Rhaenyra says softly. "Some people just have a harder time with these things. But I promise you, this is not your fault. None of this is your fault. You're always good. You have a lot of energy and you're curious about the world. That's a good thing. You deserve someone who takes the time to care about that. Your dad needs some extra time and help to learn how to do that."

Daeron shifts on the seat for a minute.

"The more time I spend here, the more I know my dad chooses to be sick over choosing to be my dad."

Rhaenyra stares at him. He knows she's worried. He knows she's trying to figure out what to say, because what can you really say to that? What can you say to a kid who's finally figured out that maybe, just maybe, his dad isn't actually getting as healthy as he says he is?

Daeron isn't stupid, or blind. He knows dad is still skinny and pale and tired, and that means he's sick. He's attending the visits and the other stuff the court tells him to, according to Rhaenys, but he's not better.

"I'm sorry," Rhaenyra says.

"It's not your fault," Daeron says.

"No," Rhaenyra agrees. "But I'm still sorry that you're this little and you can understand these things the way you do. It's not a fair situation. Your dad is trying, though. He's... Daeron, your dad does choose to be sick, but he's choosing to be better. The court makes him take tests to prove that. With your dad, he'll get worse before he gets better because his body has to learn to live without the things he was doing to make him sick. It's going to take time to see a change, but he is trying."

"What if he stops trying?" Daeron asks. "He's stopped trying before. This time, things seemed real. He's never put me in care before. I thought he was serious. He went to a hospital and everything to get better, and I don't-"

He shakes his head, curling his hands into fists around the gloves.

"What happens to me if he stops trying?"

"Come here," Rhaenyra says.

She lifts him onto her lap, rubbing his back over the suit as she holds eye contact with him.

"You stay with us," Rhaenyra says. "For as long as you need to. As long as this takes, you stay with us. Rhaenys won't move you unless you ask her to. We are happy to have you with us for as long as you can be. We're not replacing your dad. We can just be somewhere safe for you."

"I don't think you're trying to replace my dad," Daeron says. "Not anymore. It's like you do everything my teacher says parents should do in the mornings and he did none of it. You can't replace something that I never had."

Rhaenyra smiles sadly. It doesn't make him angry like it might've last time.

"Are you talking to Talya about this?" she asks.

"Yeah," Daeron says.

"Good," Rhaenyra says, pressing a kiss to his forehead. "You're a good kid, Daeron. You deserve the whole world. You deserve to feel loved and happy."

"I do here," Daeron whispers, leaning against her chest. "You and Alicent and the others do that."

"We do love you," Rhaenyra says. "We love you so much."

"I know," Daeron whispers. "I love you, too."

Rhaenyra holds him for a few more minutes.

"Do you wanna go and race for a bit more?" she asks.

"Can I?" Daeron asks.

"I think I might even have a turn," Rhaenyra chuckles. "Let's see if you can beat me, huh?"

Daeron does beat her. He beats Daemon, Rhaenyra, and Laena.

He's walking on cloud nine when he gets out of the kart, at least until he's lying flat on cloud nine under a dogpile of kids.

"You beat my dad!" Baela yells. "Nobody ever beats my dad! You're as fast as lightning!"

"That was so cool!" Jace laughs, rolling off the pile as the adults start pulling the bigger kids off the smallest one there.

Daeron giggles when Daemon lifts Daeron onto his feet, tilting his head back by the front of his helmet.

"You have something special," Daemon says. "I used to race dirt bikes. You've got a knack for driving. Ever thought of joining a team?"

"No," Daeron says. "You think I could join one?"

"I think they'll be racing after you if they knew what you could do," Daemon laughs. "We'll talk to Rhaenyra and Alicent, see if we can have a look around for one while you're here."

Daeron doesn't even care that it's a temporary thing. He cares about the fact that Rhaenyra's family care about him and can see that he's talented, that they're showing up for him and teaching him understanding and support and love.

They're his family, too.

Maybe you can build your own family, sometimes. Maybe that family just finds you when you don't think you need them at all.

Maybe that family is better.

Maybe that's okay.

Dad keeps up with his visits.

They're still at the centre, but Rhaenys doesn't have to supervise them in the room anymore. The next step are home visits and spending the night.

He doesn't look any better. He doesn't talk much, either.

Daeron tells him about Luke's gymnastics competition. He tells him about Jace's upcoming recital and Aemond's martial arts tournament. He tells him about the astronomy conference next weekend that Aegon is going to with Viserys because it's a full weekend event, and about the talks Helaena is doing in the bug house at the zoo.

He tells him about go karting and beating everyone, and about how Rhaenyra has started taking him once a week to a class for kids who like karting. It's not a team, not really, but they race against each other at the end of every class and he wins every single one.

Dad looks at Daeron for a minute. Daeron stops talking.

"You know we can't afford that when you come home," dad says.

Daeron chews on the inside of his cheek.

"I don't want you getting ideas in your head about bringing all this rich shit back home. They might be stupid enough to waste their money on shit like that, but I'm not."

Daeron doesn't say anything. He curls his hands into fists at his sides, tries the breathing techniques Talya taught him.

It works. He unclenches his fists.

"You told me to have fun while I'm there," Daeron says. "That's what I'm doing. It's not your money I'm wasting. You should be happy."

"I am happy," dad says. "As long as you don't expect the same shit from me."

"I don't expect anything from you," Daeron whispers.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Sorry."

He isn't sorry. He wants to go home.

Jace has his piano recital the next Sunday evening in a massive building that's open aired. Daeron is gawking around like an idiot because he's never seen anything as magnificent as this before.

It's a set of ruins, absolutely, but there's a massive stage in the middle of this arena and there's fold up seats in a circle around the stage where more seats and instruments are set up.

"What is this place?" Daeron asks.

"It's the old dragon pit," Aegon says. "They have their summer concert here every year because they're part of a really good music academy. This is Jace's first year with a real performance."

"A real performance?" Daeron asks.

"Jace wrote his first composition this year," Helaena says, fidgeting with the headphones in her hands. "He said it was inspired by his family. He had help from mama, but she said it was all him."

"It is all him," Alicent says, hands on Luke's shoulders. "We're over here. Everyone else is here."

"How did Daemon beat us here?" Rhaenyra asks.

"How did Laenor and Joff?" Aegon asks. "Laenor spends twice as long as I do on his hair."

"Don't let him hear you say that," Jace snorts.

"I'll say it to his face because it's true," Aegon says. "Laenor! How long did you spend on your hair today?"

"Three hours, why?" Laenor says, grinning at them as they come over.

Aegon just smirks and sits down beside him. Helaena sits beside him, and the little twins find their seats with the only actual twins in this family.

"Dude, come sit," Aegon says, nodding at the seat beside Helaena.

She nods. Daeron sits down beside her, trying to peer over the people in front of them at the stage. Alicent laughs, scooping him up and sitting in his seat with him on her lap.

"Better?"

"I can see!" Daeron says. "Why are we dressed like we're going to a funeral?"

"What?" Alicent says.

"The suits," Daeron says. "Dad says suits are for funerals."

Rhaenyra snorts.

"It's true," Helaena says. "Luke wore a suit for his mum's funeral."

"They're not just for funerals," Rhaenyra says. "You can wear them to look smart. That's why we're all dressed up."

Daeron fidgets with the bowtie he's wearing, but he lets it go. He can look smart for a few hours if it'll make Jace happy.

They're all dressed up. The boys are all wearing black suits with red ties or bowties. Helaena is wearing a pretty red dress with black and red ribbons braided into her curls. It matches Alicent's dress, though it's still similar to all the other girls wearing their red dresses, too.

It seems the Targaryen colours are out in full force. Laenor, Corlys, Laena and Joffrey are even wearing the colours to support Jace as opposed to the Velaryon blue they wear at family parties. Rhaenys typically goes with a nice red and blue combo attack, but she's full of Targaryen realness tonight.

It makes her laugh when Viserys says it, Aemma giggling at his side while Baelon rolls his eyes and says something about too much reality television rotting his brain.

It's really nice to be dressed up.

Super uncomfortable, though.

"What's Jace's song called?" Daeron asks.

"We actually don't know," Rhaenyra says. "Other than Alicent helping start it off, he hasn't let us know anything. He said it's a surprise for all of us."

"Are you nervous?" Daeron asks Alicent.

She nods.

"I don't have any chill pills. I'm sorry," he says.

Aegon and Helaena start laughing, Rhaenyra giggling as Alicent shakes her head.

"Why am I always the butt of your jokes?" Alicent asks.

"It's revenge for the dad jokes," Rhaenyra says.

"Oh, I forgot about that!" Aegon says. "It's a blessing you burned dad's cargo shorts, mama."

"She loved those cargo shorts, Daeron," Helaena tells him. "You have no idea how ugly they were."

"They sound ugly," Daeron says.

"Oi!"

Daeron giggles as Rhaenyra, Aegon and Helaena start bickering. Alicent looks entirely used to it and, honestly, Daeron's used to it by now, too. Everybody bickers playfully in this family. It's actually quite nice to be included in it, too.

"Oh, it's starting!" Helaena whispers, patting Aegon and Daeron's knees a few times. "This is exciting!"

"Do you need your headphones?" Daeron whispers.

"Yes," Helaena whispers, tugging them over her ears. "Tell me when Jace is on so I don't miss it?"

Daeron holds his pinkie out. Helaena links hers with his, the two of them kissing their thumbs to lock it like Aegon whispers them to. It makes Alicent laugh as she kisses the back of Daeron's head.

There are a lot of amazing performances to watch. Daeron doesn't recognise a single song, but the others seem familiar with them so Daeron figures these are probably classics in the genre. There's also more grown ups than children.

Jace is the first child Daeron sees step onto a stage. Daeron looks at Helaena, moving his hand in her eyesight as she stares at her lap. She looks up at him, blinking for a moment before removing her headphones with a smile.

They both look at Jace on the stage.

He's growing his hair out and his dark curls are touching his shoulders, now. He's wearing a suit like all of them, though his bowtie is green with dashes of bronze. It reminds Daeron of Vermax's colourings.

"Jacaerys Targaryen with his first composition," the conductor says into the microphone. "The Dance of Dragons."

Jace sits at the piano, looking out into the crowd in their direction for a moment before he starts playing.

Daeron doesn't know the first thing about music. He really doesn't, but he knows you can feel good music in your soul. He closes his eyes to really hear it like Rhaenyra turns the radio down to park the car when they're shopping, because apparently it makes it better to concentrate.

Daeron's wild imagination comes in handy, occasionally. Tonight, especially.

He can imagine flying on the back of Tessarion in the skies, twisting and diving through the air like Luke in gymnastics. He can hear the wind humming like Helaena's bees and the flapping of the dragon's wings like Aemond's nunchucks through air.

He can hear the whistle of a shooting star pass by like the ones painted on Aegon's treehouse ceiling, and lightning strikes like Rhaenyra has compared him to, and bird songs chirping for attention like the birds Alicent feeds in the garden, and calls of one dragon louder than the others like Rhaenyra calls for her feral brood of dragon children.

He can hear the joy in the flight. He feels like he's actually flying with the warmth in his stomach that reminds him of being in the go karts because he's good at go karting and it makes Rhaenyra and Alicent proud of him, and he thinks this warmth is the same warmth he felt when Aegon won his soccer game, when Luke won his competition.

He thinks this is what it feels like to be proud of someone. He thinks this is what it feels like to love someone and show up for them because showing up matters, because their interests and creations matter.

Jace's song matters. It's a beautiful song. Daeron loves the song.

He actually hates the fact that it's so short because it feels like barely a second before the music fades out with one last dragon call.

He blinks his eyes open. The dragon pit erupts in cheers for Jace and Daeron is lifted onto Alicent's hip so he can see and cheer for Jace with her.

Jace bows for the crowd, cheeks bright red under the lights. Daeron whistles for him, a trick Aegon taught him two weeks ago, and he cheers Jace's name with the rest of the family.

Jace bows again before running off the stage.

There are more performances, but none will ever compare to Jace's. Daeron is practically vibrating with excitement by the time the rest of it is finally over and they can find Jace in the tunnels being used as waiting rooms for family members.

Jace runs over to them with the widest smile Daeron's ever seen on his face. He hugs Alicent before any of them, hugs her for a few minutes before he lets go to hug the others. He even hugs Daeron before he hugs any of his grandparents or uncles or aunts.

Daeron thinks about the piece all night. He thinks about it even after bedtime when he's lying on the top bunk with Tessarion.

He stops thinking about it when his bedroom door creaks open.

"Daeron?"

"Luke?"

Luke climbs up onto the top bunk with a grin, Aemond appearing on the ladder with his dragon in his hand.

"We're throwing a secret kitchen party to celebrate Jace. You in?" Luke whispers.

Daeron grins.

"Yeah."

The three of them creep downstairs past Rhaenyra and Alicent's closed door. Aemond silently closes all the doors behind them until they reach the kitchen where Jace, Helaena and Aegon are already waiting for them.

Aegon is making hot chocolate and Helaena is sorting the marshmallows into colours while Jace grabs the whipped cream from the fridge. He shakes the can, popping the lid off and squirting it into his mouth.

"Jace," Helaena whispers.

"It's not your can," Jace says, grinning at her. "Open up, suckers."

Daeron laughs, but opens his mouth for his turn. Jace squirts the cream into his mouth, Daeron grinning at him as he swallows it down.

"It's so good," Daeron mumbles.

"I know," Luke says, wiping some off his nose and licking his finger clean. "What snacks are we having?"

"We have the chocolate chip cookies I baked yesterday," Aegon says.

"Perfect," Jace says.

He grabs the biscuit tin. They all sit at the island and Aegon carries over the cups, Helaena handing them all six bowls with marshmallows in, all sorted into colours. Helaena only has white, Luke only has pink, Aemond has more white than pink, and the other three just have mixed because they're not as fussed over the flavour of marshmallows.

Helaena also grabs her own can of whipped cream because she doesn't do boy germs, which is so fair because boys can be super gross, sometimes.

Daeron waits for his turn with the whipped cream and eats his cookie. He tries to squirt the cream onto his hot chocolate, but more of it ends up on the island than in the cup.

Luke laughs from beside him, taking the can and doing it for him.

"Thanks," Daeron says.

"You'll learn," Luke says. "We started secret kitchen party nights forever ago and hot chocolates are a staple. You get good with some practice."

"Will you teach me how to make it?" Daeron asks, looking at Aegon. "For when I go back to my dad?"

"Yeah," Aegon says, giving him a small smile. "I'll teach you."

"Do you want to go back?" Aemond asks.

"Aemond," Aegon says.

"It's okay," Daeron says. "I don't know."

"You don't know?" Aemond asks.

"It's different with him than it is here," Daeron says. "I don't think I want things to change."

"Don't you miss him?" Aemond asks.

"Of course I do," Daeron says. "He's my dad. He's just not very good at being a dad, all the time. He's trying to get better."

"What happens next?" Jace asks. "Like... When do you start visiting him properly again?"

"Soon," Daeron whispers. "The next visit. I have to stay at his house overnight. He's been doing good with everything, so, the judge told Rhaenys that we could do the next step, and I'm going to stay there."

The five of them share another look.

"So, we were thinking about this whole treehouse slide situation," Aegon says. "And we think we want your help."

"You do?" Daeron asks.

"Yeah," Luke says. "I mean, I don't really do anything except cheer them on, and Helaena sits out with me because we don't wanna get our hands dirty, but we still help with ideas. You can help with ideas, and building, if you want to."

"And testing it," Aegon says. "See, we've never built a slide before. We figured some bubble wrap and a helmet would be good enough protection to see if it's structurally sound. You wanna be our test dummy?"

"That sounds like a death trap," Helaena says, right as Daeron says-

"I'd love to!"

"He's going to end up hurt," Helaena says.

"Nah, that's why we have the helmet," Jace says. "To protect his brain. And the bubble wrap will protect his bones."

"I have too much to loose," Luke says, sipping on his hot chocolate. "Or I would try and do it, too."

"No, it'll be fun," Daeron says. "I'd love to try it."

"Little brothers are the best," Aegon laughs. "Just do anything you say."

"His brain isn't formed fully," Helaena says. "And neither is yours, clearly."

She flicks him in the forehead. The boys laugh as Aegon scowls at her, rubbing his forehead.

"I could sue you for that," he says.

"Yeah?" Helaena giggles. "I'm uncle Daemon's favourite. He'll represent me in a court of law over you. Who is going to believe I would hurt my twin?"

"She's right," Aemond says. "I'd take her side over yours."

"That's because you're a loser," Aegon says.

"You're nearly fourteen and you're arguing with an eight year old," Aemond says. "Who's the real loser here?"

Daeron laughs at the look on Aegon's face.

"Back to this slide business," Aegon says. "Blueprints, young genius."

"Suck up," Aemond says.

He grabs his blueprints while Luke wipes up Daeron's whipped cream spill. Daeron gives him a guilty smile, Luke laughing as he sits back down and helps Aemond unroll the papers.

"We're thinking of a classic twisty slide," Aegon says, pointing at the papers. "We're using the centre tree to the trees we're using now and we're going to build a platform for you to walk up to with the rope bridges."

"Are you gonna build more treehouses?" Daeron asks.

"Yeah, there's gonna be nine of them, eventually," Helaena says. "Ten structures, including the slide. My treehouse is the bug hotel. I don't love heights."

"Well, if there's gonna be another five treehouses, shouldn't you decide where they'll go before you decide on putting the slide in the middle?" Daeron asks. "It can be the connecting piece. It's the odd thing out."

"That actually makes more sense from a building perspective," Aemond says, glancing at Daeron. "Do you build things?"

"No," Daeron says. "It's like the solar system in Aeg's treehouse, though. There's a system. They all orbit something. The slide is like the sun, or something. The treehouses should orbit that."

Aegon beams. Aemond nods slowly.

"I like it," he says. "We'll have to survey the trees tomorrow and figure it out. We'll be able to finish the slide before the family barbecue, if we get started soon."

"We can get the materials and start next weekend," Jace says. "I have two weeks off piano. I can help more, now."

"I'll help, too," Daeron offers. "I don't know how good I'll be, but I'll try."

"Then it's decided," Aegon grins. "Council of the siblings is adjourned."

Daeron giggles, but it feels like a gut punch and it fades after a moment.

He's not one of their siblings.

He doesn't belong here.

He fits here, but it's not his real home.

It really hurts.

"I think we should probably go to bed before mum and mama find us," Jace says.

The others agree. They pack everything up and Aegon washes their dishes, the younger ones drying while Helaena puts them away. The kitchen is spotless and they all sneak a cookie upstairs to bed with them. Daeron eats his before they even get to their bedrooms.

"Night," Aegon whispers from his doorway.

"Night," Luke and Aemond whisper, closing their bedroom door behind them.

Helaena waves and closes her door. Jace and Daeron wave at Aegon, watching him close his door over. Jace looks at Daeron.

"Wanna have a sleepover?" he whispers.

Daeron nods. Jace slips into his room and returns with Vermax. He follows Daeron into his room, climbing onto the bottom box while Daeron finds his way to the top bunk to reunite with Tessarion.

"Daeron?" Jace whispers.

"Jace?"

"You know it's okay to be confused about this, right?" Jace asks.

"Confused about what?"

"Loving your dad and loving us, too. I know it's different, but when my mum and dad died, I really missed them. I felt really bad about having fun here. I was only here because they couldn't look after me anymore. It's okay to be confused. You can have more than one family. You can have more than one home."

"What if I love my new one more than my old one?"

"That's okay, too."

The blankets ruffle. The bed frame shifts before Jace's face appears over the ladder.

"Budge over."

He drapes Daeron's blanket over the side of the bed so it covers the bottom bunk. They climb down and settle on the bottom bunk in the makeshift fort, lying under Jace's blanket with their heads on the same pillow.

"It's confusing, I think," Jace says quietly. "Being here and knowing you have to go home eventually."

"If he gets better," Daeron whispers.

"Don't you think he will?" Jace asks.

"I'm not sure he thinks I'm worth getting better for," Daeron admits. "He doesn't love me in the way your mums do. It makes me angry. He makes me angry. It gets so bad that it just explodes, sometimes. I don't want to go home. I don't want to be angry."

Jace wraps his arm around Daeron's shoulder, resting his chin on his head.

"The lightning strikes in the song I made?" he whispers. "They were for you. You are a dragon, Daeron. You're one of us. You're safe here. You always will be."

Daeron cries himself to sleep. Jace holds him the whole time. He never once lets go.

It's what a brother would do.

It's what Daeron's brother does.