Like Bathwater
Aemond Targaryen x female oc
CW: smut, pregnancy, post-war themes
In Lys, everything is staged. Except for this.
Sometimes, he swore he tasted blood from biting down on his lip. Courtly manners died hard, even in a man such as him.
āI have told you no,ā he said precisely, āseveral times.ā
The blonde woman sighed, stroked a hand up his bicep one final timeāaffectionate, practicedāand finally left him alone.
Submerged to the waist in warm, milky water strewn with silvery petals, Aemond Targaryen watched his wife be pampered in one of Lysās perfumed bathhouses, far from the war they had left behind.
It was still early enough in the pregnancy that her belly hid beneath her gown, most of the time. But like this, every inch of her skin on display, her condition was immediately obvious.
Aemondās eye traced the blossoming curves of her body. The image of the Mother herself. He tilted his head, eye narrowing.
Several girls surrounded Mavisāone brushing oil into her hair, another massaging it into her back, a third working at her ankles and feet. Mavisās head tipped back, her eyes closed in bliss.
āThey please you, my love?ā he murmured, just loud enough to be heard.
Her head lolled, her face turning toward his voice. āGods above,ā she moaned softly.
Aemond smirked. Good.
Those glorious, stormy eyes opened and fixed on him.
Slowly, she rolled off the cushioned chaise they had coaxed her onto. She took one step toward him, then anotherāand suddenly she was in the tub. Mavisās soft lips parted, eyes wide and sincere.
āNot nearly what you do,ā she said softly.
Her fingers moved absently up and down her belly as she watched him curiously. He understood her meaning immediately.
He took her chin between his thumb and fingers, drawing her in as he leaned forward to meet her in a kiss.
She smiled into his kiss, fingers tangling sharply in his hair. Her hair smelled of jasmine. She pressed her chest into him, her breasts already swollen from the growing babe, and his hand rose immediately to cradle one.
She broke from his lips, leaning back to grin.
Aemond tilted his head, carefully exploring her body with one hand. Her breasts were still familiar. Hers. He knew them wellāthere was simply more of them now to fill his hands.
Mavis slid a single hand up the center of her stomach, sliding it between her breasts. She caught his hand, guiding it down, and atop his, her hand spread over her stomach.
āI know what you want to do,ā she said quietly. āItās okay.ā
He narrowed his eyes slightly. āYou say that like you know more than I do.ā
Mavis smiled gently.
For a moment, neither of them spoke. The low hum of the bathhouse pressed in around themāsoft laughter, the quiet movement of water, the heavy sweetness of perfume in the air. It felt very far from everything else.
āI asked many questions of Maester Orwyle once. Shortly before you left for Harrenhal, I think. I had suspicions. They turned out not to be true.ā
This was a surprise.
āYou never said,ā he said quietly.
Mavis tilted her head in acknowledgment. āI figured you had enough to be getting on with, without unproven suspicions,ā she said softly.
She leaned forward, resting against him, her fingers tracing gently along his cheekbone. He turned his head just enough to press his lips to the heel of her hand. She smiled, her eyes deeply fond.
āWe made it, Aemond,ā she whispered. āI am so sorry for what we lost to do it, butā¦ we made it.ā
His eye dropped to her belly, his hand smoothing over the pale skin as he licked his lips, considering his words carefully.
āWe will need to find a home soon,ā he said at last.
āMm,ā she agreed quietly.
Her head rested against his shoulder as she shifted, curling her legs and settling into his lap. She gazed up at him, eyes gleaming softly in the candlelight, her bottom lip caught between her teeth.
āLittle dragon will come along eventually,ā she murmured warmly. āBut I dare say we have a few more months of freedom left.ā
āYou say it like itās a burden.ā
āYou arenāt carrying them.ā
He let that sit between them for a long, quiet moment. Mavis studied his face like a favorite painting, the tip of her finger twisting a lock of his hair.
She shifted in the water again, her knees planting against the stone, and knelt before him, water slipping down her body in milky droplets.
Aemond licked his lips again. Mavis smirked.
āI know youāve wanted this,ā she said, matter-of-fact.
His eye flicked from her breasts to her face, the sharpness in it glinting like a drawn blade. Mavisās smirk widened.
His fingers curled against the back of her thigh, his nails biting into her skin and drawing a soft gasp from her. He pulled her closer, deeper into his lap, her thighs parting easily to accommodate him.
āThere you are,ā she whispered, almost to herself.
This time, when her mouth met his, it was already open. Her tongue dragged lightly across his bottom lip.
āMhm,ā she hummed.
His hands settled at her hips, guiding her exactly where he wanted her.
Her teeth nipped at his lip as she pulled away. She rolled her hips against him, teasing, and he smirked at her. Her hair began to curl softly in the humid air.
When his hips pressed into hers, her mouth fell open, a soft gasp slipping from her parted lips. She dragged her nails down his chest as he drew her closer, her head tipped back.
āAhā¦ Aemond,ā she purred.
She curled forward until her forehead rested against his, her fingers tangling with his as he pressed closer still. Their fingers tightened, their breath mingling.
His motion sharpened. She grunted, then grinned.
āMmmā¦ yes, there you are,ā she said.
His fingersālong and preciseātraced up her back, mapping the shape of her ribs as she threw her head back and rolled her hips forward, setting the pace herself.
So beautiful like this.
His thumb found the center of her bottom lip, then trailed down her chin, his hand following the line of her throat, his touch impossibly soft.
Her eyes fixed on his as her hands settled on his shoulders, palms open against his skin.
āMy dragon,ā she panted.
The water did much of the work. She tired easily these days. Her eyes closed, and she lost herself in him.
He smiled faintly. Good. Yes. Good.
Her voice caught between her teethāa broken, wordless sound.
āShh,ā he murmured.
His fingers spread against her back, steadying her, her lips curling in bliss as she trailed her nails across his shoulders and up the back of his neck, her fingers tangling in his hair and held fast.
Her body rocked with his, each motion drawing a whimper from her lips as she pressed her forehead against his again, eyes squeezing shut.
āAāAemond,ā
She shuddered, and he kissed her, swallowing the sound that broke from between her parted lips, her fingers flexing rhythmically against his scalp.
Seven hells.
He groaned against her lips, his own movement stuttering.
For a moment, neither of them moved. Muscles quivered. His eye opened, his gaze incredibly open. There she is.
Her fingers loosened in his hair.
She smiled, her breath shivering against his lips in a whisper of laughter. The full of her body leaned into him, every changing curve against his skin as she sank into him like bathwater.
Her cheek rested against his collarbone, her nose nuzzling the column of his throat.
āĆuha zaldrÄ«zes,ā she whispered against his skin.
Her finger brushed loosely across his cheek, exploring his bottom lip before he caught her fingertip between his teeth.
She closed her eyes, nuzzling her cheek against his skin, a satisfied smile crossing her lips. The comfortable silence stretched.
Her hand dropped, tracing down his chin and throat before coming to rest against his chest, her fingers curling lightly at his sternum.
He looked down at her, the amber light of the candles bathing her skin in a golden glow.
āYou should rest,ā he murmured.
āIām quite relaxed here,ā she said softly.
He shifted her in his lap carefully, draping her legs across his thighs. Her head nestled in the hollow of his collarbone. They lay there, curled together, until the water grew cold.
āUp,ā he murmured into her hair.
He guided her hips as she stood. Two attendants had her by the upper arms immediately, guiding her out of the tub and wrapping her in linen. Aemond followed, taking his own drying cloth from a third girl.
Once dry, he scooped her into his arms easily. She tangled an arm around his shoulders.
The heavily cushioned, silk-sheeted bed of their rooms was arranged like a nest. Aemond placed Mavis among the pillows and cushions as though she were made of glass, then slipped in beside her. Mavis immediately curled against his chest.
āRest,ā he repeated.
He didnāt have to suggest it twice.
