Follow up to the other pre-canon Rocky x Adrian post. This one is my own personal headcanon where they were childhood friends, drifted apart for a bit, then met again in college and fell in love hard for each other <3
Warnings/Tags: pregnancy, mentions of childbirth, childbirth pain, jace being a cutie, jace loves his family and would kill for them, slightly suggestive at the end, reader is always sassy
Everything ached.
Your feet, your knees, your breast, your back.
It was a constant throb of exhausting pressure, pushing against your spine and ribs with ferocity. How tiring it was, to grow a babe all on your lonesome, your body destroying itself to create life.
The grandmaester ordered you to bed rest for the final months of your pregnancy. Months of just laying around, waiting for the day your life changed forever. It was a daunting thought, giving birth, even more so with the growing tensions of your newly founded family.
At least they were kind to you, more so than you expected them to be.
Targaryen’s weren't known to be exceptionally kind or honorable and most of your family consider them to be an affront to the gods. Men and women who lay with their brothers and sisters, riding dragons through monstrous blood magic.
But they are more than that- Jacaerys especially.
Sweet, kind Jacaerys who's more attentive and thoughtful than you could ever imagine. A man who anticipated your needs before you could verbalize them. A man who massaged your swollen, aching body without any complaints, who defended you against unruly men and women alike.
A massage sounds good right about now.
A groan escapes your lips as you lean forward, desperately trying to ease the pressure pooling in your lower back. It persists, however, and a sharp pain stabs through your back pulling a whine from your lips.
“Your highness,” a handmaiden rings out, her voice wavering with concern, “would you like me to fetch the maester?”
“No, no. I'd rather my husband right now, Jeyne.”
Without a word, she rushes away with her head down and hands clinging to her skirts. She's a dutiful woman and a good, loyal friend- one you're lucky to have. But the room grows colder in her absence, the pain growing with each breath.
The maesters say these pains are common, a trick played by the God’s to prepare women for labors. Nevertheless, you curse the Gods for fating you to a woman's body and forcing you to bear this pain.
So lost in the waves of pain, you don't hear the door creak open, nor do you see the figure approaching you. A hand pressing against your back and you jolt upwards, your muscles tensing as you flee the intrusion. But it's just Jace, just your sweet, caring Jace staring down at you with concern lacing his beautiful, brown eyes.
“My love, what do you need?”
“... a massage..”
A bright, cheeky grin takes over his face before a chuckle escapes him. It's moments like these you forget about the tension, forget about the brewing war on the horizon.
He laughs brightly and guides you towards an arm chair, quietly helping you sit on the soft, red cushion. Wordlessly he kneels before you and slips off your slippers, his fingers ghosting over the skin of your ankles.
“Anything for my princess,” he lifts your leg up, pressing a gentle kiss over the skin of your inner ankle. “The realm would surely perish if I did not assist you.”
“It is good then that I have such a doting husband.”
He only chuckles in response, continuing to massage away the pain in your ankles. The cramping in your stomach doesn't cease, however. All you can do is stroke your bump in a pitiful effort to ease the aches, something Jace does not miss.
“You are cramping, yes?”
“Mmmmm… your child is restless. It would appear as if they are eager to join us.”
The pain grows sharper, a stabbing ache that radiates up your back in waves. Jace reacts immediately, standing and leaning over you with furrowed brows. His fingers stroke your collarbone, his thumb kneading soothing circles into your bone.
“Are you certain they are not making an appearance now?”
“I was…. Not so much now.”
“Let me fetch the mae-”
“No, Jace,” you grab at the lapels of his jacket, pulling him towards you. “Please, let us just wait it out…. perhaps they are just a lie.”
The Godshave amazing comedic timing, for at your final word, a warm liquid trickles down your leg with an aggressive cramp.
“I am the Gods laughing stock,” you whisper quietly, looking up at Jace with glassy, unfocused eyes. “The Maester, Jacaerys!”
“OH! Now?”
“Yes!”
~
Labor was arduous and painful, even more so than any woman could express. Of course, you expected it to be painful, to be tiring, but nothing compared to the agony of ripping yourself in two to bring life into the world. There were moments you thought you wouldn't survive, moments where you clung to Jeynes hand as if she alone would save you.
But you would do it all again, if it meant bringing her into this world. A choice you would make over and over again.
She was beautiful.
With a head of thick, curly brown hair and long luscious lashes framing the most beautiful brown eyes. In every way, she was her father, a perfect mirror of his own handsome complexion.
The grandmaester and midwives wouldn't allow Jacaerys to enter and he agonized over your pained screams. But the moment he heard the cries of a babe, his heart jumped into his throat and his body became overwhelmed with love. They let him in after that and he almost fainted at the sight of you holding your little girl in your arms.
It was the beautiful sight he'd ever seen.
Despite your red rimmed, glassy eyes, the snot and teas dripping down your face, your sweaty, greasy hair, you were the most beautiful woman in the whole of Westeros. And he when he held little Alysanne in his hands, he swore that no harm would ever befall her. That we would destroy the throne, no, the world to see her safe and happy.
He was an amazing father to her- attentive and doting just like he was with you. Even if he never had enough time, every free second was spent with the two of you, holding you in his arms as he played with his child. Every night he begged for another, but insisted on waiting till you were ready.
“I cannot wait,” he'll say, “but you need rest, my love. We will wait however long you need.”
As if you were not desperate to produce him an heir.
Currently, he holds in her in his arms, gently rocking her as he sings her a quiet song. He doesn't have the most amazing voice and he messes up the words sometimes, but it is steady and relaxing. And you watch as Alysanne falls asleep in his arms, her beautiful brown eyes disappearing behind a veil of lashes.
“She is so perfect,” Jace whispers whilst looking down at her, his brows pinched in keen adoration. “I have never seen anything more beautiful in my life.”
“If I did not agree, I would take offence to that, My Prince.”
He chuckles and meanders over to her crip, carefully setting her inside the comfines- her dragon egg cradled right next to her sleeping body. Hopefully it will one day hatch and she will have a bond as pure as Jace and Vermax's.
“It would appear that we are biased accounts, my lady. Perhaps we should get a third opinion on her beautiful?”
“Perhaps not Jace. I fear if anyone states she was less than perfect… I would kill them.”
“I as well,” he snickers and walks over to you, his brows wiggling as he reaches for your hips. His hands grip on tightly, pushing you back towards the bed. It bends under your weight, the old, study wood creaking as he crawls on top of you. “They would never survive our combined wrath.”
The two of you lay on the bed for a moment, your fingers combing heouty his thick, curly hair as he breathes in the scent of your neck.
“Jace?”
He hums in question.
“I believe I am ready… to try for another.”
Immediately his head snaps up, his eyes wide and mouth agape as he stares down at you.
“You have just made my life complete, y/n. We shall try at once.”
His sentence finishes with a sharp nip at your neck.
Zoey, presenting a powerpoint: Celine, you famously blacked out for 24 hours when Rumi was born. I have uncovered the fact that you are actually Rumi's biological mother. See you had a cryptic pregnancy but didn't know it. Mi-Yeong's body sensed this somehow and had a hysterical pregnancy so she was never really pregnant. You gave birth to Rumi while you were blacked out and everyone thought it would be easier to tell you that Rumi was Mi-Yeong's baby because you were in such bad shape.
Rumi: Celine is this true?
Celine: I don't know...
Mira: 🤦♀️
Celine: How did I get pregnant then? And why is Rumi half demon?
Mira: SHES WHAT?!
Zoey: Ah so you were impregnated by the honmoon. It saw how deep you got into "your faults and fears should never be seen" and thought that giving you a child that was half demon would help you learn that hiding yourself would only hurt you and others and the honmoon.
Celine: You know I did have a weird dream around the time you were conceived.
Rumi: :0
Mira: WAIT A MINUTE! ARE WE JUST GOING TO GLOSS OVER THE FACT THAT RUMI IS A DEMON!?!?!?!
Celine: A half demon actually. Zoey how did you figure all of this out?
