Synopsis: The same gods who cursed Daeron send him a sweet wife who loves him more than anything.
Warnings: Non-sexual nudity, alcohol, a little angst, and lots of cuteness.
For most women, marrying a prince known for being a drunkard would be a punishment. You thought so to when your engagement was announced; all you could do was cry and beg to marry someone else, but your parents had already made their decision.
When you met him, you were speechless at the handsome man standing before you. You knew the rumors about the Targaryens' stunning looks, but the rumors didn't do justice to your future husband. His stunning green eyes his blond hair seemed unreal. But you could feel the sadness emanating from that man; his face had such a sad expression that you wondered if marrying you was really so bad. I mean, marrying him wasn't the best thing in the world even though he was the most handsome man you had ever seen, but he could at least pretend to be happy.
Your parents, along with Daeron's father, suggested that you two take a walk before dinner to celebrate your engagement.
Even though your first impression of him wasn't the best, during this walk you would try to get to know better the man who, in a few days, would be your husband.
The walk began quietly, but you weren't going to let it stay that way for long. "So, what do you like to do in your free time, my prince?" Daeron seemed a little shocked by your words; he thought you would ignore him or at least pretend his presence was nonexistent. He was already prepared for rejection, not for you wanting to get to know him better.
"Nowadays I don't do much besides drink, but before I used to enjoy fishing with my brothers." your mouth curved into a smile when you realized he was willing to answer you. "Really? Someday you can teach me how to fish!"
Daeron didn't know what to say. Why the hell were you trying to get close to a drunk like him?
"Excuse me, but I need to go somewhere." You furrowed your eyebrows in confusion watching the prince leave. Your only thought was that you had said something wrong; perhaps he thought it inappropriate for his future wife to want to go fishing.
You decided to let it go, focusing on returning to your room and getting ready for dinner. You would have opportunities to apologize to him.
Your engagement dinner was a disaster; your fiancé showed up drunk, which caused a huge frown on his father's face, and on yours as well. This resulted in Daeron being sent away by Maekar. You were furious. How could he do this to you? Of course, the marriage was political, but he could have shown a little respect. Your fury made you follow Daeron wherever his drunken steps led him.
He was stumbling through the castle corridors, so it wasn't difficult to catch up with him. You grabbed his arm before he could go any further, but all the words you planned to say died in your mouth as soon as he turned around. His beautiful green eyes were filled with tears, painful sobs escaping his lips as he looked at you with an expression reminiscent of a wounded puppy.
You were shocked. "My prince? What happened?" Daeron continued sobbing before letting out a whisper so low that if you hadn't been close enough you wouldn't have heard it, "I can't marry her." Your heart sank. She? Who was she? "I told my father she deserves a normal husband, but he wouldn't listen to me."
You quickly realized what was happening. Daeron was so out of it from drinking that he hadn't noticed that the woman in front of him was his fiancée. He was talking about you; you were the woman he couldn't marry.
"If I may ask, why can't you marry her?" The expression on his face became even more pained, as if just thinking about the reason physically hurt him. "I have dreams, dreams that destroy me and that I know will destroy her too."
When Daeron realized your silence, he continued staggering toward his quarters. You were speechless at his revelations; you knew he was a drunkard, but you knew nothing about those dreams.
For most people, seeing their partner in such a vulnerable situation would be disappointing, but not for you. Seeing that man so fragile, caring about you even without really knowing you, made your heart race like never before.
You wanted to go after him, take care of him, tell him that everything was okay, that everything would be alright.
He didn't understand why a woman like you gave him such a sweet kiss on your wedding day, or why you always sought him out whenever he went missing. This made him feel terrible inside; he didn't want to ruin your life. He hadn't slept with you because he didn't believe he deserved someone as good as you. He didn't kiss you because he felt unworthy of your sweet lips.
And that was why he would constantly drink until he passed out at the table of some dirty tavern. He couldn't let himself be carried away by your affectionate touches, he couldn't allow himself to be loved. You were probably just trying to do your duty, but he knew that the sooner he showed that horrible side of himself, the sooner you would stop trying to take care of him.
On one of those days when Daeron had avoided his presence, he found himself drunk enough to collapse in some random alley. He was already planning to spend the night there until the alcohol no longer had any effect on his body. Perhaps he was drunk enough to hallucinate, but he swore he saw a carriage stopped in front of the alley he was in, and he thought he was going crazy when he saw you come out of it.
Your beautiful face held such a worried expression that made Daeron feeling so bad. When you saw him, you sighed with relief; he was alive.
"Daeron..." You were watching him in that deplorable state, and his only thought was that you would finally stop trying to take care of him. You said something to the guards accompanying you, but Daeron's drunken brain wasn't able to process what was said. Until they approached and placed him inside the carriage.
You walked in as soon as he was put inside without saying a word. He kept staring at his own feet, too afraid to look you in the face. He knew your disdain was what he needed, but that didn't mean he wanted to see it etched on your face.
The journey back to the castle was silent; Daeron didn't look at her face once. He was bracing himself for it.
When you arrived, he didn't have time to say anything; you hurriedly left the carriage, leaving him alone with his thoughts. That was it; he had destroyed everything with one of the only people who tried to save him from the mess he'd gotten himself into. The guards helped him from the carriage and led him to the bathroom in his quarters. The bathtub was full of hot water and candles scattered around the room; it looked like someone had prepared a bath for him.
As soon as he undressed, Daeron got into the bathtub, letting his thoughts consume him. He closed his eyes for a moment and was startled when the door suddenly opened. It was you. His expression became even more surprised when he saw you picking up a piece of cloth and crouching beside the bathtub.
"What are you doing?" Daeron asked immediately. "I'm helping you take a bath, husband." Daeron was speechless; he wanted to send you away, to be rude and make you afraid of him. But when he saw your face flush and your gaze turn away because he was naked, he realized he couldn't do that now.
Even with trembling hands, you began to help him, dipping the piece of cloth in the water and wiping Dareon's back and face as if you were tending to a flower. Without realizing it, he relaxed at your touch, letting you help him. When you finished with his body, you helped him wash his hair without saying a word during the whole process, but you hummed softly; he could hear you.
When the bath was over, you turned to get him a towel, handing it to him and turning your back so he could cover himself. He did so, and when you realized this, you left the bathroom. Back in his room, Daeron didn't see you. Deep down, he wished you would be waiting for him there, but it was better this way. He knew that if you spoke to him now, he would cry or tell you what was troubling him. After dressing with great difficulty, he lay down on the bed and remained that way for a few minutes until the door opened again.
"I got food for you." The smile you kept on your face was enigmatic to him; he wouldn't stop wondering why you were wasting your precious time with him.
You placed the tray with some pieces of food next to his bed and sat down beside him.
"Don't run away from me, please..." You whispered as you looked into Daeron's eyes. You were willing to take care of him, it was all you wanted, but he needed to allow you to do it. He couldn't krep running off to drink in taverns as soon as you approached him.
"I know it's difficult, but we can try, I really want to help you. I want you to tell me everything, help me understand you." Slowly you brought your hands closer to his; you were afraid he would run away again.
"I know about your dreams, you told me when you were drunk." Daeron was startled by this statement; he didn't remember that. What else could he have told you? "I wasn't angry with you, much less scared. I just want to be close to you, I want you to let me love you."
Daeron shuddered, rising so quickly that you were amazed he hadn't fallen.
"Are you crazy?" A vein throbbed in his neck as he continued, "What could you possibly want to love about me? You know about these dreams, they'll drive me crazy, and when they do, I'll drive you crazy too." He paced back and forth in the room while continuing to ask, "My father forced you to do this, right? You know you don't have to."
Daeron felt his eyes burning with tears; he couldn't cry again. No, he refused to do it in front of you again.
When you stood up, he expected you to back away, to give up on this stupid idea of loving him. But no, you slowly approached him, reaching out to touch his face. You were looking at him in a way that made him feel like he'd never been seen before, and without realizing it, tears began to roll down his face.
"It's okay, you don't need to cry, darling" you murmured as you wiped away the tears that were falling from his beautiful eyes. Your two hands rose to reach the nape of his neck, standing on tiptoe as you pulled him into a hug.
He was hurting, all those years of suffering because of his dreams, losing his mother, and the contempt in his father's eyes they left behind such great pain that his heart couldn't bear it. He tightened his embrace even more, pulling you by the waist until his face was against your shoulder and tears soaked your dress.
While he cried, your hands went up to stroke his hair, whispering that everything would be alright and that you were there with him.
You pulled him towards the bed, letting him settle against your chest as he cried. His crying was painful, and it made you want to cry too, but you wouldn't do that now; now it was he who needed comfort.
Daeron murmured something, but the fact that his face was pressed against your chest made the sound muffled. You gently pulled his face up. "What did you say, darling?"
"I'm not going to run away, so don't go away, don't leave me alone again, even if I try to leave." He seemed so fragile like that.
"I'm not going anywhere, even if things get difficult" you said, slowly tilting your face to give him a gentle kiss on the lips.
Daeron continued crying for what seemed like hours, and you didn't go anywhere. When he started having trouble breathing, you were there, stroking his back while telling him how to breathe properly again.
Daeron managed to sleep peacefully, his hands caressing your hair until you fell asleep too. He wasn't sure if the dreams would stop or even if he would still try to distance himself from you, but if there was one thing he was sure of, it was that you weren't going anywhere. Even when things got difficult, he could count on you; he would try to let himself be loved by you.
And deep down he knew he had loved you since the first time you tried to talk to him.
Author's notes: I wrote what I would like to do with him. I know that's not Daeron in the picture, but I really wanted to do a blue theme for this fanfic, sorry guys. 😔
My requests are open, ask me for a fanfic and I'll be happy to write it!