THE THIRD SET
đ a/n: based on this amazingg request!! also thoughts maybe iâII turn this into a little series?
đ pairing: boyfriend!golfer!daeron x fem!reader x tennis!coach!valarr
đ cw: love triangle but not really, daeron wanted her happy as long as he was the reason, possessive behaviour, emotional manipulation, toxic relationship dynamics, jealousy, coercive ultimatum, controlling!daeron, explicit sexual content, angst, comfort?, nsfw, valarr did nothing wrong
đ summary: you develop an interest that doesnât revolve around daeron. this is, naturally, the worst thing that has ever happened to daeron targaryen
đ wc: 3.4k
the problem started, as most problems do, with something perfectly innocent.
youâd mentioned it offhand one sunday afternoon, sprawled across the cashmere blanket daeron had laid out on the 10th fairway for your âpicnic.â the sun was high, the grass was impossibly green, and daeron was three-putting his way into a quiet, brooding mood.
âi think iâd like to try tennis,â youâd said, popping a grape into your mouth.
daeron, lining up a five-foot putt heâd already mentally missed, didnât look up. âhmm? why? itâs just running and hitting. no artistry.â
âit looks fun. dynamic. and i need the cardio,â youâd shrugged, watching a group walk by on the adjacent path, tennis racket covers slung over their shoulders.
heâd finally sunk the putt with a sigh of relief, as if heâd just conquered a dragon, not tapped a ball into a hole. he walked back to you, his smile returning. âif you want to run around, darling, iâll chase you. much more fun.â heâd leaned down to kiss you, his lips tasting like sunscreen and iced tea. the subject was dropped.
but the idea stuck. it festered. watching daeron practice for hours, a study in still, focused perfection, started to feel less like watching a master and more like watching a statue. beautiful, but immobile. you wanted to move.
the solution presented itself at a targaryen family gathering at summerhall, the sprawling estate that served as the clanâs sporting playground. there was a grass court. and on it, moving with a predatorâs grace, was valarr.
you knew him, of course. daeronâs cousin. the âotherâ sporting targaryen. where daeron was dreamy and languid, valarr was intense. every serve was a thunderclap, every volley a knifeâs edge. he wasnât playing his opponent; he was dismantling him.
you stood at the edge of the court with daeron, who was swirling a gin and tonic, looking vaguely bored.
âvalarrâs form is off,â daeron murmured, not taking his eyes off his drink. âheâs opening his shoulders too early on the backhand. heâll have a chronic shoulder issue by thirty.â
âhe looks incredible,â you breathed, without thinking.
daeronâs eyes snapped to you, a flicker of something dark in the depths. then it was gone, smoothed over by a practiced, lazy smile. âheâs all brute force. no subtlety. golf is a mind game. tennis is just⊠noise.â
after the match, valarr approached, a towel around his neck. sweat dampened his silver hair at the temples, and his sharp, handsome face was flushed with victory. his eyes, a shade darker and colder than daeronâs, found yours.
âyou watched,â he stated, his voice lower, rougher than daeronâs melodic tone.
âyou were amazing,â you said, feeling daeronâs arm tighten around your waist.
âsheâs thinking of taking up the game,â daeron said, his voice light but with an edge. âi told her itâs a waste of time for a beginner. all that running for nothing.â
valarrâs gaze didnât leave you. he took a slow sip of water. âbeginners are the most rewarding to teach. you have no bad habits to unlearn. just⊠raw potential.â a faint, almost imperceptible smile touched his lips. âi coach at the kingsguard club. i could give you an assessment. see if you have the instinct for it.â
daeron laughed, a soft, dismissive sound. âshe doesnât need the instinct for tennis, valarr. sheâs doing just fine.â
but you were already nodding, a strange thrill buzzing in your chest. âiâd like that. thank you.â
the look daeron gave you then was complexâa mix of surprise, betrayal, and a cold, dawning calculation. he covered it with a chuckle, pulling you closer. âif my girl wants to play tennis, who am i to stop her? just donât let him work you too hard, sweetheart. he has a reputation for being⊠demanding.â
the first lesson was a revelation.
the kingsguard clubâs indoor courts were hushed, cavernous spaces smelling of lemon polish and new tennis balls. valarr was a different person here. the cold intensity remained, but it was channeled into a terrifying focus on you.
he didnât smile. he didnât offer empty praise. he stood across the net, his eyes missing nothing.
âyour stance is too narrow. widen it. shoulder width.â his voice echoed in the empty space. you adjusted. ânow, watch the ball. not me. the ball. from the moment it leaves my hand. follow it with your eyes until it hits your strings.â he fed you gentle, easy balls. you missed the first ten, swinging wildly. he didnât sigh. he didnât get frustrated. he just kept feeding them, a relentless, patient machine. âagain.â
and then, on the eleventh try, there was a solid, satisfying thwock. the ball sailed back, clearing the net with a foot to spare.
valarr didnât move to return it. he let it bounce past him. he just nodded, once. âthere. thatâs the feeling. remember it. that is control.â
it was nothing like the dreamy, distracted golf lessons with daeron, where his attention was always half on some internal vision. valarrâs attention was a physical weight, a laser pointed directly at you. it was unnerving. it was exhilarating.
after the hour, muscles you didnât know you had were screaming. valarr handed you a bottle of cold water, his fingers brushing yours.
âyouâre a quick study,â he said, his tone giving nothing away. âyou have good hand-eye coordination. and youâre not afraid of the work.â
âitâs harder than it looks,â you panted, wiping your face with a towel.
âeverything worth doing is,â he replied, his dark eyes holding yours. âsame time next week?â
âyes,â you said, without hesitation.
daeronâs reaction that evening was a masterpiece of passive aggression. youâd met him at his penthouse, still buzzing from the lesson.
âso?â he asked, pouring you a glass of wine. âhow was the great valarr? did he bark orders at you until you cried?â
âit was great,â you said, taking the glass. âreally hard. but great. i actually hit a few.â
âwonderful,â he said, his smile not reaching his eyes. he came up behind you, wrapping his arms around your waist and resting his chin on your shoulder. you could smell the sandalwood of his cologne, the old paper scent of the books in his study. âsweetheart, iâm proud of you.â he kissed your neck. âbut donât forget your first love, hmm? the greens are waiting for us this weekend. iâve booked us a tee time at dawn. itâs magical.â
youâd agreed, but your mind was already on your next tennis lesson, on the clean, sharp lines of the court, on the sound of a perfectly struck ball.
the weeks began to tessellate into a new, dual rhythm life.
mornings with daeron were soft and slow. the mist over the fairways, his quiet, rambling monologues about the philosophy of a swing, the way heâd kiss you senseless behind the maintenance shed when he got bored. it was familiar. it was comfortable. it was a lined cage you knew the contours of by heart.
afternoons with valarr were brutal. the stark white lines of the court, the punishing pop pop pop of ball drills, his voice cutting through your fatigue. âmove your feet!â âprepare earlier!â âthat was sloppy. again.â there was no coddling. no dreamy poetry. just cold, hard improvement. and when you achieved itâwhen you finally got your serve to consistently land in the box, when you won your first point off him in a rallyâthe reward was a single, slight nod from him. it felt like winning a war.
you started to change. your body grew leaner, stronger. you carried yourself differently. you bought tennis skirts and sleek dri-fit tops, a silent rebellion against the lazy, elegant golf course dresses daeron loved to see you in.
daeron noticed. of course he did.
âyouâre always tired now,â he commented one evening, tracing circles on your bare arm as you lay in his bed. you had a lesson with valarr early the next morning and had yawned twice. âitâs a good tired,â you murmured, already half-asleep. âis it?â his voice was soft, dangerous. âyou used to have energy for me. now you come home smelling of sweat and that cheap clay court dust, and you just pass out.â you turned to look at him. his beautiful face was shadowed in the moonlight, his expression unreadable. âiâm just trying something new, daeron. it makes me happy.â âhe makes you happy?â the question was a razor blade wrapped in silk. âthe sport makes me happy,â you corrected, but the distinction felt thin, even to you. he sighed, a long, wounded sound, and pulled you against his chest. âi just miss you,â he whispered into your hair. âi feel like iâm losing you to a⊠a racket.â
the jealousy, once a subtle scent in the air, became a thick fog.
he started âdropping byâ the kingsguard club. heâd lounge in the viewing gallery above the court, sipping an espresso, watching your lessons with valarr with a detached, amused expression that was anything but amused. his presence was a star, warping the gravity in the room.
valarr ignored him completely. if anything, daeronâs presence seemed to make him more intense, more physically demonstrative in his coaching. heâd step in close to adjust your grip, his chest against your back, his hands covering yours on the racket handle. heâd linger. heâd point out the mechanics of your swing, his voice a low murmur right by your ear. it was clinical. it was also undeniably intimate.
âyour elbow is dropping. it needs to be here.â his hand would slide from your hand to your forearm, positioning it. his touch was cool, firm. âlike a lever. precise.â from the gallery, youâd feel daeronâs stare like a physical touch, hot and angry.
one day, after a particularly grueling session of serve practice, valarr handed you your towel. you were both breathing heavily.
âyouâre getting strong,â he observed, his mismatched eyes sweeping over you in a way that was purely analytical, and yet⊠âthanks to you,â you said. âno,â he shook his head slightly. âthanks to you. i just provide the direction. the will has to be your own.â he paused, looking up at the empty galleryâdaeron had left halfway through, slamming the door. âhe doesnât like you having a will of your own, does he?â the question was so blunt it stole your breath. âheâs just⊠protective,â you said weakly. valarr gave a short, derisive sound that wasnât quite a laugh. âi know my cousin. what he calls protection, the rest of the world calls possession.â he picked up a stray ball, squeezing it in his palm. âbe careful. dreamers have the sharpest teeth when their dreams are threatened.â
the confrontation finally erupted not on the golf course or the tennis court, but in the sterile, echoing parking garage of the kingsguard club.
your lesson had run late. valarr had been teaching you how to handle a volley at the net, which required you to stand very close to each other, reacting in split seconds. there had been a lot of sudden movements, collisions, his hands on your shoulders to steady you, your laughter at your own clumsiness.
you walked out together, your racket bag over your shoulder, still buzzing with adrenaline. and there, leaning against the driverâs side door of your carâhis car, the one heâd bought for youâwas daeron.
he looked like a fallen angel. his silver hair was messy, as if heâd been running his hands through it. his eyes were bright, too bright, and his perfect mouth was set in a thin, cruel line.
âwell,â he said, his voice deceptively calm. âlook at the two athletes. all sweaty and⊠coordinated.â
âdaeron,â you started, your heart hammering. âwhat are you doing here?â
âwaiting for my girlfriend,â he said, pushing off the car. âwho seems to have forgotten she had plans with me tonight. but thatâs okay. you were clearly⊠busy.â his gaze sliced over to valarr, who had stopped walking, his expression turning to granite.
âthe lesson ran over,â valarr said, his tone flat. âmy fault.â
âiâm sure it was,â daeron purred, taking a step toward him. the air crackled with familiar tension. âyou always were so thorough, cousin. so⊠hands on.â
âdaeron, stop it,â you said, stepping between them. the smell of his cologne was overpowering, mixed with something sharper, like fear or rage.
he looked down at you, and the mask of calm finally shattered. the hurt and fury in his eyes were raw, terrifying. âstop what? stop noticing that my girlfriend spends more time with you than with me? that she comes home smelling like him?â he jadded a finger toward valarr. âthat she talks about topspin and footwork with more passion than sheâs talked about anything with me in months?â
âitâs just a sport!â you cried, tears of frustration springing to your eyes.
âitâs not!â he roared, the sound echoing off the concrete pillars. he grabbed your upper arms, his grip tight. âitâs him! itâs always been him! youâre choosing him! over me! in my own family!â
âlet her go, daeron,â valarrâs voice cut through the echo, cold and deadly quiet. he hadnât moved, but he looked ready to spring.
daeron laughed, a wild, unhinged sound. he released you, shoving you back slightly as he turned to face valarr fully. âor what? youâll give me a tennis lesson? teach me about control?â he spat the word. âyou have no idea what control is. your life is a series of reactions. a ball comes, you hit it. my lifeâour lifeâis a creation. a dream. and youâre trying to shatter it with your fucking backhand.â
he turned back to you, his chest heaving. the anger bled out of him, leaving something worse: a desperate, shattered vulnerability. his eyes swam with tears. âwhy?â he whispered, the word breaking. âwhy is he better? tell me what he gives you that i donât. please. iâll give you more. iâll give you anything.â
you were crying now too, torn in two. âdaeron, itâs not a competitionâŠâ
âeverything is a competition!â he screamed, then pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes. when he lowered them, he looked exhausted, hollow. âjust⊠get in the car. please. letâs go home.â
he didnât wait for you. he got into the driverâs seat, slamming the door.
you looked at valarr. he stood like a statue, his face impassive, but his hands were clenched into fists at his sides.
âgo,â he said, his voice rough. âheâs right about one thing. this was always going to end here.â
you wanted to say something, to explain, but no words came. you just got into the passenger seat. daeron peeled out of the garage, the tires screeching a painful lament against the concrete.
the drive to his penthouse was a silent, pressurized chamber. you felt the words he wasnât saying crowding the air between you, thick as the city smog. he didnât touch you. he didnât look at you. his hands on the steering wheel were the only things moving, pale and tense. when you finally stepped into the cool, silent expanse of his home, the door clicking shut behind you felt like the sealing of a tomb.
he didnât speak immediately. he walked to the sideboard, the slow, deliberate click of crystal as he poured two fingers of amber whiskey the only sound. he stared into the glass, his back to you, his shoulders rigid.
âi want you to quit,â he said, his voice low, stripped of all its usual melodic lilt. it was flat. final. âno more lessons. no more valarr. no more⊠anything that isnât us.â
âdaeron, you canât justââ
âi can.â he turned then, and the look on his face stole the rest of your protest. it wasnât the wild, tear-streaked fury from the garage. this was worse. this was a resolution. the dreamer had woken up to a nightmare, and his eyes were clear with a terrible pain. âi have to. or i will lose my mind. do you understand? it is not a request.â a single tear escaped, tracing a slow path down his cheekbone. he didnât seem to notice. âyou are the only real thing in my world. the only thing i didnât dream up. and i feel you⊠slipping into someone elseâs story. a story with no room for me. so i am begging you. choose. the court him⊠or me.â
the ultimatum hung in the air, cruel and honest. you thought of the satisfying thwock of a perfect return, of muscles burning with honest effort, of valarrâs silent, approving nod. you thought of freedom.
then you looked at daeron. at the beautiful, shattered prince who built you a gilded world and was now watching its foundations dissolve. who loved you not like a man loves a woman, but like a drowning man loves airâwith a desperate, all-consuming need that left no room for anything else.
the choice wasnât between a sport and a man. it was between a version of yourself you were just discovering, and the obliterating force of his love.
your surrender wasnât a walk. it was a collapse. a sob broke from your throat, and your knees buckled. you didnât move toward the door. you took one stumbling step toward him, and that was all the answer he needed.
he moved then, not with the frantic energy from before, but with a certainty. he caught you before you fell, his arms wrapping around you, lifting you as if you weighed nothing. he didnât kiss you. he just held you against his chest, your face buried in the soft cotton of his polo shirt, smelling his familiar scent of sandalwood and grass. he carried you, not to the bedroom, but to the vast, dark living room, to the plush, oversized rug before the cold fireplace
he knelt, laying you down upon it with a reverence that felt like a funeral rite. the city lights bled through the windows, painting his honey blond hair in streaks of cool neon
âlook at me,â he commanded, his voice a soft, ragged whisper. âonly at me.â
his hands went to your clothes, but they didnât tear. they worked with a slow, deliberate precision. the buttons of your tennis top were slipped free, one by one, the sound unbearably loud in the silence. the zipper of your skirt was lowered with a hushed, metallic sigh. he peeled the fabric from you as if unwrapping something sacred and fragile, his fingertips brushing your skin, leaving trails of fire. his eyes never left yours, drinking in every shiver, every hitched breath.
when you were bare before him, he didnât immediately cover you with his body. he knelt back on his heels, his gaze a physical caress that felt more intimate than any touch. he was memorizing you, reclaiming every inch of territory he felt heâd lost.
âmine,â he breathed, the word not a growl, but a prayer. âevery part. always mine.â
then, with that same slow intensity, he began to remove his own clothes. the polo shirt lifted over his head, revealing the lean lines of his torso. his belt buckle clinked softly. each movement was deliberate.he was shedding the boy, revealing the man beneathâthe one capable of this dark, all-consuming devotion.
when he finally lay beside you, skin to skin, the heat of him was a shock. he didnât push into you. he worshipped you with his mouth.
his kisses began at your temple, soft as moth wings. they trailed down your jaw, to the frantic pulse at the base of your throat. he mapped your collarbones with his lips, his tongue tracing the hollow there. he moved lower, with agonizing slowness, paying homage to every curve, every plane. when he took a peak into his mouth, his touch was not greedy, but reverent, a slow, sucking pull that drew a broken moan from your lips and made your back arch off the rug. he soothed the ache with his tongue, then moved lower, across the trembling plane of your stomach.
his hands joined the pilgrimage, skating over your hips, your thighs, learning you anew. his fingers traced the inside of your knee, then higher, a feather-light touch that made you jerk. he parted you with care, and when he finally lowered his mouth to your core, it was not with frantic hunger, but with a devastating, focused intent. he tasted you slowly, learning the rhythm that made you gasp, the pressure that made you whimper. he was an artist, and you were his medium. he built the pleasure not in a sudden wave, but in a slow, rising tide, layer upon exquisite layer, until you were trembling on the edge, your fingers tangled in his ashy blond hair, begging without words.
only then, when you were liquid and mindless with need, when his name was the only thought in your head, did he move over you. he braced himself on his elbows, cradling your face between his hands. his eyes were pools of dark violet, shimmering with unshed tears and a possessive love so deep it bordered on madness.
âtell me,â he whispered, his voice thick. âtell me you choose me.â
you were beyond words, beyond thought. you could only nod, a frantic, desperate movement.
he entered you then, but not with a thrust. he pushed forward with a slow, inexorable pressure, a claiming that was as much emotional as it was physical. he filled you completely, stretching you, overwhelming you, until you felt him etched into the very core of your being. he stopped, fully sheathed, and dropped his forehead to yours, his breath coming in ragged gusts.
âdo you feel me?â he whispered, his voice cracking. âdo you feel where you belong?â
you could only whimper, your body adjusting to the profound, slow fullness of him.
he began to move then,it was not fast, but it was deep. each withdrawal was a sweet agony of loss; each return, a profound, grounding possession. he moved not just with his hips, but with his whole being, his eyes locked on yours, pouring his soul into yours with every measured stroke. the pleasure was a slow, coiling burn, building from your joined core, spreading through your veins like molten gold. it was not the sharp, frantic climax from before.
âmy dream⊠my only dream⊠you are everythingâŠâ
you felt yourself coming apart not in a shatter, but in a slowunraveling. the orgasm bloomed through you, warm and deep and endless, pulling a long, sobbing cry from your throat. it seemed to go on forever, each wave milking him, pulling him deeper into you.
he followed you over the edge with a broken, gasping cry of your name, his body shuddering as his own release was drawn from him by the pulsing grip of yours. he collapsed onto you, his full weight pinning you to the rug, his face buried in the curve of your neck. you could feel the hot spill of his tears against your skin, the frantic beat of his heart against yours.
for a long, long time, you lay there in the silence, tangled together, the only sound your mingled, slowing breaths.
finally, he stirred.he lifted himself off you, gathered you into his arms, and carried you to the bedroom. he cleaned you with a damp, warm cloth, his touches gentle now, almost shy. he pulled you into the bed, wrapping the duvet around you both, and then wrapped himself around you, his body curving to fit yours perfectly. he held you so tightly it should have felt like confinement, but it felt like the only solid ground in a world
âsleep,â he murmured into your hair, his voice hoarse but calm. âi have you. iâll always have you.â
and as you drifted into an exhausted, dreamless sleep, you knew he was right. the tennis racket, the court, the approving nod of another manâthey were already fading, distant memories of a life that wasnât yours. your life was here, in this bed, in this gilded cage held together by daeron. he had taken you back, slowly, completely and in the doing, had erased every part of you that dared to dream of anything else.
taglist: @valarrmylight @icebearcucumber @wooceanic @baeylei @sunshineflowersandkisses @darylandbethfanforever9 @pinkdoeweirdo @comzetogether @g-l-o-b-e-w-h-o-r-e @madefor-softerskies
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