Chapter Text
Compiled version of this thread
Joffrey and Daeron fuck around. They don’t want to put a name to their relationship because when Lucerys and Aemond announced their marriage a few years ago, it caused a nasty media frenzy. Targ Group stock price plunged 30% in a day.
Viserys had to drag his crippled body to hold press conferences, making PR campaigns, etc. Rhaenyra and Alicent made their children swear not to cause such problems again.
Jace has no problem with it as he practically lives in Winterfell. Helaena happily complied as well. Aegon even made a TikTok video about it. Joffrey hesitated but Daeron promised Alicent he would not cause her trouble. So they keep sneaking around. Luckily Joffrey is a beta so they don’t have to worry about birth control.
Joffrey has just finished training when he gets the news of Daeron’s engagement to Bethany Hightower. He feels off lately, his performance in the ring isn’t half good as before. His coach warned him that he would lose the gold belt if he didn’t put his shit together. Joffrey feels like vomiting but he holds back the bile by sheer stubbornness. He got a few texts from Luke, asking if he’s ok but Joffrey ignores them. He goes back to the ring, trying to punch the betrayal away. He keeps punching until he passes out.
Joffrey’s next tournament is in Lys, so he flies there early. The tournament begins but Joffrey loses to his first opponent. A particular nasty hook sends him face down on the floor. His stomach hurts like hell and he couldn’t get up no matter how hard he tries. Joffrey is a beta so the idea of getting pregnant never crosses his mind. That’s why he dismisses the cramps in his belly and the nausea as a stomach flu. That’s why he loses his baby in a boxing match when his baby dad celebrates his engagement with someone else.
Joffrey comes back to king’s landing 10 days later. He acts like nothing has happened; training even harder until his knuckles swollen. Everyone can tell his laugh is tinted by sadness but no one dares to ask why.
Lucerys is the first one to lose patience. He practically kidnaps Joffrey after training, making his baby brother get in the car and drives to the fairy tale mansion he shared with his husband and children. Joffrey can no longer hold the tears when he sees Luke’s children. Two boys and a little girl. All have silver hair like Aemond, and one of the boys inherited Luke’s hazel eyes and wavy hair. They all run to greet their mother, leaving kisses and drool all over Luke’s face.
Joffrey isn’t so lucky like Luke. He doesn’t know if his baby was a boy or a girl. He doesn’t know if his baby would have silver hair like Daeron, or just plain dark brown curls like himself. All he knows is that his baby would never grow up to kiss him. His baby is nothing more than a pool of blood the doctor managed to pull from his body. Joffrey couldn’t tell where the fetus is, so he just put his fingers in the sticky blood, muttering apologies and goodbye.
“ Tell me what happened, Joff. You never ignored my calls. ” Luke asks softly.
“ Stomach flu. The nurse confiscated my phone. ” Joffrey says casually, casting his gaze down at his lap, unable to look at his nephews and niece.
“
Don’t lie to me. If I have to call all hospitals in Lys to uncover the truth, I will. But I don’t want to take such measures.
”
Lucerys says firmly, cupping his hand around Joffrey’s bruised knuckles.
“
Papa said you shouldn’t lie!
”
One of the boys says, he is the mini Aemond.
“ Are you hurt? You can cry, mama said there is no shame in crying. ” The little girl says. She looks a lot like Luke despite her silver hair and lilac eyes. Joffrey guesses she must be the sweetheart in the family.
“ Tell me, Joff. Please. ” Lucerys scoots closer, pulling him into a hug .
So Joffrey does. He tells Luke his affair with Daeron, they never use birth control and he ended up pregnant despite him being a beta.
“I was so stupid. My baby is dead because of me. I killed him. Hell, I don’t even know if it’s a him!” Joffrey hugs himself around the belly as if he could still feel the fetus growing inside him.
“ It’s not your fault. You couldn’t have known. It’s very rare for a beta male to get pregnant. Are you going to tell Daeron? ”
“No.” Joffrey says firmly. “He will get married to an omega in a month. He will soon have enough children that it doesn’t matter if his fuck buddy has lost one.”
Joffrey’s expression is so determined that Lucerys choose to let the topic go for now. He invites Joffrey to stay for the night while making a mental note to bring this up to his husband.
Daeron checks his phone, 10th time in last 30 minutes, but finds no new messages from Joffrey. He knows Joff has come back to king’s landing after he lost at first round. Daeron is never a fan of boxing but he makes sure to follow Joffrey’s match, every single one of them.When Joff was fighting for his first belt, Daeron even skipped a town hall meeting to be there. He wore caps and masks to hide his Targ features, but Joffrey spotted him immediately. The youngest Velayron brother, the only one who doesn’t work at Targ Group or Driftmark Co., beamed at Daeron like a blazing sun. It’s not like Joffrey to lose at first round, especially not in a minor tournament like this one in Lys.
Daeron was at a party that time, a boring thing held to celebrate his engagement to the youngest daughter of the current chairman of Hightower Financials. Daeron is current working at a leveraged buyout to acquire a new branch for the massive Targ Group, and Old Town Bank, a subsidiary of Hightower Financials will be his main creditor. Daeron always knows he will have no say in his marriage. Viserys makes it very clear that no one is to marry behind his back after the stunt Aemond pulled by knocking Lucerys up and marrying him in secret.
Marriage is a business, Daeron is taught. Pleasure can be sought elsewhere. So he keeps his affair with Joffrey going even though he learned his engagement months ago. Daeron tries to ignore the butterflies in his stomach every time he receives a message from Joffrey. Sometimes it’s only a silly emoji, or a selfie of Joffrey in sweat drenched tank top. The last message from Joffrey was sent a few hours before Daeron’s engagement to Bethany went public.
Off to train. See you later. Plus a custom made emoji of Joffrey’s dog Tyraxes.
Later turns out to be two weeks, and counting. Daeron checks his phone 11th time, still nothing. Just as he’s about to put his phone on mute and actually does some work, a notification pops up. It’s an Instagram update from an annoying sports reporter who covers boxing.
The picture is vague, likely taken by phone from a distance. There are two figures in the picture, one middle aged man in polo shirt and slacks, another young man in grey hoodie and sweatpants with dark curls all the way down to his shoulder. The older man put an arm around the younger’s waist, supporting him. Daeron can recognize these dark curls anywhere.
Golden boy being comforted after unexpected loss at Lys tournament. Instagram says. Daeron feels his blood run cold. It takes all his self-control not to smash the phone on the expensive desk in his private office. But he does spill all his coffee and has to call his assistant to clear it up. By noon, the rumor of the most likeable Targ mysteriously losing his temper has spread across the whole firm like wild fire.
“ What do mean you can’t take it down? ” Lucerys says irritably into the speaker. He has two ear buds in, custom-made with sapphires embedded on them, newest version of the viral StarkBuds. “ We are talking about my baby brother’s reputation here- no, honey, you can’t eat papa’s eye with your cereal. ”
The little girl on his lap pouts, but Lucerys manages to rescue Aemond’s prosthesis. Mornings are always chaotic in this household. Now Lucerys is trying to braid his daughter’s hair while the little girl eats her breakfast. Always rainbow cereal with oat milk, and a drizzle of cocoa nibs. She is very specific about it. The girl not only inherited Lucerys’s features, but also his curious nature. That’s why she decides adding a prosthesis eye to her cereal is a good idea.
“No, Ben, I am serious.” Lucerys sighs. “Listen, I don’t care if you have to drive to Instagram headquarter and seduce their ceo, I want that picture GONE. And I want to destroy that reporter’s career. Get him fired. Make sure no media would ever hire him again. He’d be better off cleaning toilets for all I care.”
Lucerys ended the call, just in time for Aemond to hand him a cup of coffee. Two shots of espresso, 3/4 cup of milk with a light foam on it. Just like his daughter, Lucerys is very specific about his morning cup.
“ Haven’t seen you this malicious for a while. ” Aemond shares a few quick pecks with Lucerys before taking the prosthesis eye from his husband.
“ Instagram is the worst. It’s worse than that time when Jace showed up in met gala with that dire wolf fur coat Cregan gifted him. Some environmental manic wrote a 20 pages long essay about animal rights. I have to hire a hacker to take the article down. God, I hate PR. ”
Aemond patiently waits for Lucerys to finish ranting, while exchange glances with his darling little girl about why her mama is in such a bad mood this morning.
“ You are the most capable PR professional I’ve ever known. Now tell me who caused you trouble this time. ” Aemond takes over Lucerys’s task to braid their daughter’s hair.
“ Some lame reporter took a picture of Joff in Lys with another man, and wrote a suggestive line about it. ” Lucerys gulped down half of his coffee. “ I can’t let Joff see this, Aemond. He has a lot on his plate right now .”
Aemond finishes the last braid with a pink pin before reaching out to rub a circle on Lucerys’s hand.
“Can’t let me see what?” Joffrey’s voice comes from the dining room entrance, two silver haired boys trailing behind him. He looks pale and tired, dark circles visible under his eyes, the usual energy and cheerfulness gone. He has two bags of chips in each hand, no doubt coaxed by the two troublemakers to grab them from the top shelf.
“ No need to hide from me, Luke. ” Joffrey says. “ I am a fighter. I can take it. ”
“ Fighter you may be, but you will always be my baby brother. ” Lucerys replies.
“ It’s my ob doctor, Mr. Qarl. ” Joffrey tells Lucerys. They sit at the dining table, two steaming mugs between them. One coffee for Lucerys, and one herbal tea for Joffrey. As a professional boxer, Joffrey seldom consumes stimulus like caffeine.
“ Qarl? As in daddy Laenor’s boyfriend Qarl? ” Lucerys raised an eyebrow.
Joffrey nods.
“I couldn’t stand on my own after surgery. He was just escorting me to the car.” Joffrey says apologetically. “I didn’t notice that we were being followed. I’m sorry, Luke. I didn’t mean to cause you trouble.”
“ It’s not your fault. Stop apologizing to me. ” Lucerys assures. “ I’m going to kill that fucker. ”
Joffrey chuckles, reaching out to cover the girl’s ears. She blinks at him. Her brothers have gone to school and her papa to work so there are only three of them in the house.
“ The picture captures the name of the hospital so people will be curious. You can stay with us for now, if you want. ” Lucerys offers.
“ No, I will be fine. I will go back to my place after training today. ” Joffrey sips his tea.
“ Maybe you should, I don’t know, stop training for a while? So that you can get more rest while your body is still recovering. ”
“ I have matches to win. ” Joffrey simply says.
When Joffrey opens his apartment door, Daeron is already there. He makes himself a coffee and sits on the couch in darkness.
“ You are late. ” Daeron says matter-of-factly.
Joffrey ignores him. He goes to the kitchen to get water.
“ I brought you pizza, but it’s already gone cold, which is not a surprise because you should be home at 6:30 and it’s nearly 8 now. ”
“ I already ate. ” This is a lie, but Daeron doesn’t have to know that. Joffrey looks over his shoulder to find Daeron following him into the kitchen. “ What do you want, Daeron? ”
Joffrey turns to face Daeron, an empty glass still in his hand.
Daeron falls silent. The problem is, he doesn’t know what he wants. He just knows he has to see Joffrey.
“ You cut your hair. ” Daeron finally manages to blurt out.
Joffrey laughs. It’s hilarious, really, that Daeron only cares about his hair after all this time.
“ Yeah, I did. I don’t have to ask your permission for it. ” Joffrey runs a hand on his shaved head. All the curls are gone, only some short roots remain.
“ I like your curls. ” Daeron says, taking a step forward, trapping Joffrey between himself and the sink.
“ Too bad I get rid of them. Your fiancé e has nice hair, maybe you can play with hers instead. ” Joffrey bravely meets Daeron’s light purple eyes. He never escapes from a fight.
“ Is this why you haven’t contacted me for two weeks? Because I am engaged to Bethany? ” Daeron tries to cradle Joffrey’s face but the Velaryon boy turns his head away.
“You haven’t contacted me as well.” Joffrey says but he regrets his words immediately. The last thing he wants is to sound like a pathetic puppy. When he lost his baby, he lost all ties to Daeron as well. They are nothing more than uncle and nephew now. Maybe they never were something else.
“ Well I was busy - “
“ I was busy too. ” Joffrey interrupted before Daeron could finish his sentence. He placed a hand on Daeron’s chest to push him away.
“ Busy fucking that silver fox? ” Daeron can’t help but spitting out venom. He doesn’t know he can be this jealous.
“ Fuck off! ” Joffrey says through gritted teeth as he punches Daeron in the jaw. How dare Daeron accuse him of that? How dare Daeron act like nothing happened? Joffrey knows that he shouldn’t blame the death of his baby on Daeron. The alpha doesn’t know. It was all Joffrey’s fault.
Daeron stumbles back. Joffrey smashes the glass in his hand on the floor.
“ Leave. ” Joffrey says coldly, holding back the tears that threaten to break. “ And don’t come back. I don’t want anything to do with you anymore. ”
Daeron regards him for a long moment before turning to leave. He fishes out the spare key of the apartment and puts it on the coffee table.
“ Pizza is in the oven. ” Daeron says from the door. “ I know you didn’t eat anything. Remember to heat it before eating. ”
The door closes with a click. Joffrey curls himself into a ball on the cold kitchen floor and cries.
Aemond barges in the private office, a panicked assistant trailing behind him, her brows twist in apology. Daeron is wise enough to hit the mute button on his zoom call the moment he sees a wisp of silver hair. Aemond works at strategy development, that’s 10 floors above. He never comes to Daeron’s office, especially not with that menacing look on his already stern face.
“ It’s all right Ellyn. I guess my brother has something very important to discuss with me. You can leave us alone, thank you. ” Daeron flashes a charming smile to his assistant.
“ Call off the wedding. ” Aemond demands as soon as the office door is closed. Daeron frowns, but before replying, he ends the zoom session and presses a button on the remote to lower the blinds.
“ I am at a meeting with the accounting team. ” Daeron says, pinching his nose. “ Can this wait? I need to deliver all the financial statements to the auditors tomorrow. ”
“ Call off the wedding. ” Aemond repeats, ignoring everything Daeron tries to say. “ No. ” Daeron replies, his usual friendly tone turning icy. “ As far as I know, there is no bad PR about my engagement . Why should I call it off? Mostly importantly, why should I listen to you? ”
Aemond snorts. “ You want dirt? Fine, I will give you dirt. ”
He takes out a burner phone, courtesy of Stark Tech, and slides it to Daeron.
The screen shows a medical form, regular pregnancy checks to be exact. The patient’s name is crossed out, but the form shows that the patient is an omega female, two months pregnant. The baby seems to be healthy.
“ Your fiancée is pregnant, two months. I don’t suppose you are the father because you were at the family Christmas vocation for 3 weeks straight. I don’t see Bethany Hightower anywhere near the resort. Even if she was, I don’t think you’d have time to fuck her. ”
Daeron narrows his eyes, tightening his grip on the phone to prevent his fingers from trembling. He remembered the Christmas vocation. Even though Daeron doesn’t want to agree with Aemond, but his one-eyed brother is right. Daeron spent so much time having sex with Joffrey that he was in a dizzy but blissful state half the time. Joffrey gave him a pendant as a Christmas gift and now said pendant still lies in his office desk. Daeron could reach it right now.
“ Call off the wedding if you don’t want to raise somebody else’s kid. ” Aemond pauses, as if he has something else to say but thinking better of it eventually.
“No.” Daeron puts down the burner phone. I already know Bethany is pregnant. Why do you think I am rushing the wedding?”
His ass of a brother surprises him. Not many people can surprise Aemond Targaryen but Daeron proves himself to be one of them. As an alpha himself, Aemond can only imagine how fucked up it must feel to raise another alpha’s pup.
“ So you are telling me, you agreed to the engagement out of freewill? That you are willing to hurt someone you care so that you can get a damn LBO case done? That you are selling yourself like a man whore to cover up Hightower’s dirt? ”
“ I don't know what you are talking about. ” Daeron purses his lips.
“ Cut the crap. I am talking about Joffrey. ” Aemond sneers at Daeron’s surprised face. “ You really think you can fool everyone? If you really don't want others to know about your little affair, try being quiet next time .”
“ At least I didn’t knock my nephew up! ” Daeron sp i t s .
“ Oh, really? Are you sure? ” Aemond laughs mockingly.
Daeron hates Aemond so much. He hates his brother for being able to marry for love and have a bunch of genetically blissed children, while Daeron could never have any offspring with Joffrey. Sometimes he dreams of a little child with Joffrey’s big smile running after him. But it is just that. A dream.
Daeron is about to ask Aemond to leave when his phone buzzes. It’s a google alert notification he has on Joffrey Velaryon.
Golden boy tested positive for stimulants. A ban is on the way? His coaching team asks for a retest.
“ Have you been taking the medication? ” Mr. Qarl asks through the phone. He sounds worried, and Joffrey could hear some faint siren sound in the background. “ I really shouldn’t be on meds during the season. ” Joffrey says, adjusting his hand wrap.
“Joff, you just went through a miscarriage. Your body needs time to heal. It’s rare for beta males to get pregnant, and the physical toll on the body is immense. Those meds can help regulate your pheromones, even if you can't feel them. As your doctor, I suggest you take some time off, and take the meds as prescribed.”
“ You sound like daddy Laenor. ” Joffrey jokes. The match in the training ring comes to an end, and his coach waves at him to fight in the next round.
“I’m serious, Joff. Consider it. If you are not careful, you may lose your ability to get pregnant again.” Qarl’s words make Joffrey pause. He hates himself for the unreasonable hope rising from his gut. Why does he hope? He breaks up with Daeron already. Joffrey doesn’t think he will let anyone else fuck him, not to mention bearing their children. So it doesn’t matter if he loses his ability to get pregnant, does it?
“ Joff? Are you there? Are you at training again? ”
“ OK, I will take the meds. Stop worrying and tend to your patients. I can practically hear the screaming from the ER. ” Joffrey hangs up before Qarl could say anything. He doesn’t know what gets him. He shouldn’t take meds without consulting the medical team. However, the hope, the fragile hope that maybe he can have another baby with the man he loves refuses to go away. Joffrey swallows a handful of pills and washes them down with ice c old water. How foolish of him.
Joffrey sits on the cold chair, hands clapped tightly on his lap, the only way to prevent them from shaking. He can hear muffled arguments outside, his hot-tempered coach swearing that Joffrey Velaryon never takes drug.
Have you seen him fight? The boy’s a genius. He doesn’t need drugs to win.
Well, thanks. Joffrey laughs internally. His coach is the kind of guy who believes in tough love so it’s quite refreshing to hear some praises. If only not in this damned situation.
Joffrey knows he won’t pass the retest. It must be the pheromone meds. He just had a test 3 days ago so Joffrey is naive to think he won’t be tested for at least another week. Turns out he’s wrong. Now he just sits here, waiting for the inevitable. Joffrey can’t just give them his prescription list. He has to keep his miscarriage a secret.
Joffrey loves boxing. It’s his passion from 3rd grade. Rhaenyra encouraged her boys to pick up a hobby, Jace chose coding (the nerd he is), Luke chose debating (earns himself the nickname silver tongue) and Joff chose boxing. If his brothers choose to be nerdy and eloquent, Joff will be their protector. Joffrey lost count how many times he punched someone for insulting his brothers.Although graduating from college with a business degree, Joffrey chose to pursue the career of a professional boxer. He hesitated at first but it was Daeron who helped him make up his mind. Sadly, apart from his baby, now Joffrey may lose his career as well.
Daeron doesn’t know why he’s here. He takes a long drag of his cigarette, shoving his hands into the pocket of the trench coat. His phone keeps buzzing, floods of messages and emails from the accounting team coming in, but Daeron ignores them. He has been standing in front of Joffrey’s apartment for more than 3 hours now, but Joffrey still hasn’t come back. He’s freezing, the tip of his finger numbs from the biting cold.
Daeron catches a glimpse of a camera, a man in black jacket ducking his head back in the bush. Daeron immediately senses something is wrong because the man clearly doesn’t belong in this wealthy neighborhood. He marches toward the bush just in time to catch the sneaky man.
“Give it back! I ain’t doing nothing!” The man struggles, trying to get away but Daeron snatches the camera from him. Daeron ignores him and flips through the digital camera. There are pictures of the entrance to Joffrey’s apartment, some zoomed in shots of the apartment window which captures Joffrey’s shadowy figure. Joffrey going to training, Joffrey getting into Lucerys’s car, Joffrey in hoodie and sweatpants, another man’s arm around his waist.
“ What are you? A stalker? ” Daeron frowns, trying very hard to stay calm. He is always the rational one, the most reasonable Targ, but his patience is wearing thin. “ I am a reporter! ” The man reaches out to grabs the camera but Daeron won’t let him.
“ Reporter doesn’t stay outside someone’s apartment at the middle of night. It’s stalking. ”
“ I can say the same to you. ” The man mocks. Daeron glares at him and makes a show of smashing the camera to the ground.
“ No, no, no! I’m trying to dig out some dirt of the golden boy, ok? No way he’s as spotless as he looks. I can make a big name if I uncovers the dirty secret of Joffrey Velaryon. I am getting somewhere I assure you man - “
Daeron clutches his fist. He has to mentally repeat the prayer his mother usually mutters to keep himself sane.
“ Stay. Away. ” Daeron says through gritted teeth. “ Don’t you ever come near Joffrey again. ”
“ What? Why should I take orders from you? Who are you anyway? His baby daddy? ” The man must be very dumb not to recognize Daeron as one of the Targs. But Daeron is too shocked to care.
“ What do you mean, baby daddy? ”
“ Oh, you don’t know then? He’s seeing an ob doctor at Lys. Told you he has dirt. Wait until I reveal to the world what kind of a whore Joffrey Velaryon is that he manages to get knocked up as a beta! ”
Daeron sees red.
He remembers that time when Joffrey got beaten up for defending his brothers by guys five years older than him and twice his size. Joffrey had two broken fingers and one fractured rib. His cheek was swollen, a nasty bruise on the jaw, but he had a wide smile nonetheless.
“ Silly boy. ” Daeron scolded him, pressing an ice pack on his cheek. “ Stopping smiling, or you will make the bruise worse. ”
“ I defended Jace and Luke! ” Joffrey said happily. He winced when the ice pack touched his skin.
“ If you keep defending your brothers, who is there to defend you? ” Daeron carefully wiped away some dried blood from the corner of Joffrey’s mouth, trying not to stare at those chapped but incredibly inviting lips.
Joffrey fell silent. He spoke again after a long pause.
“ I’m tough. I don’t need defending. ”
Daeron’s heart swell at those words.
“ Don’t be ridiculous. Everyone needs defending. All right, you know what? I will be your defender. I will make sure no one hurts you. ”
Joffrey seemed to be taken back by Daeron’s words, but he slowly relaxed and rested his head on Daeron’s shoulder.
“ Promise? ” Joffrey whispered.
“ I promise. ” Daeron said firmly.
Daeron stays true to his word. That’s why he acts before he even realizes what he’s doing. He punches the man in the face again and again. He’s not a professional boxer like Joffrey but he’s fit enough to leave the man crawling and begging on the ground.
“Daeron?” Someone calls him from behind. Daeron knows this voice, low, thick, a bit rough but resonates beautifully. He turns back to meet the owner of the voice. Joffrey stares back at Daeron in disbelief. He looks tired, cheeks sunken, dark circles under his eyes. The training jacket looks loose on his frame. But he is there. The boy who plagues Daeron’s dream is there. Daeron couldn’t help but hug Joffrey with all he can. He inhales deeply, even though he can’t smell any pheromone, the scent of mint aftershave and soap is enough to make him lose all self-control. Daeron feels at home. He doesn’t want to be anywhere else.
Joffrey leads Daeron into his apartment and switches on the heating system. The spacious apartment is dark and cold, no help at all to Daeron’s bleeding knuckles. The man he beat up escaped as Daeron was distracted by Joffrey’s sudden appearance, but Daeron made sure to smash his camera.
Are you his baby daddy? The question festers in Daeron’s mind like parasite, refusing to go away. Could the man be telling the truth? If so, does that mean Joff is pregnant right now? He didn’t smell any milky scent from Joffrey, as is typical for pregnant omegas, but then again, maybe that’s because Joff is a beta so the pheromones are off. Daeron can feel his heartbeat rising, anxious to hear the truth from Joffrey. Could it be his? Is he allowed to dream? Daeron glances at Joffrey’s flat stomach, desperately trying to find something, ANYTHING, to indicate that there is a child growing there.
“ You are lucky he’s not dead. ” Joffrey says as he drags the alpha to the bathroom and holds Daeron’s swollen knuckles under the running water. “ Or you will be in serious trouble. ”
“ I don’t care. ” Daeron hissed as the ice-cold water washes away all the blood and dirt.
“ Lucerys is going to have a field day about this. ” Joffrey jokes, turning off the water before wrapping a clean towel around Daeron’s hand. Daeron has the typical Targ skin, pale and smooth, making the numerous bruises more pronounced. Joffrey opens his cabinet behind the mirror, taking out alcohol swabs, antiseptic and some bandages.
Daeron silently watches Joffrey work on his wounds. Joffrey’s hand is rough and calloused from years of training, but his touch is so gentle that Daeron barely feels a thing. Despite his tired face, Joffrey looks unusually put together, as if being banned from all tournaments for an entire year doesn’t affect him at all. But Daeron knows better.
“ What does the retest say? ” Daeron asks, although he already knows the answer.
“ You already know, don’t you? Joffrey sees right through his facade. You are creepy enough to set up a google alert on me. ”
“ I am so sorry, Joff. ” Daeron says; he doesn’t know what he’s sorry for but he wants to say something, the silence in the bathroom is too cold to bear.
“ Don’t be. ” Joffrey shrugs, avoiding Daeron’s gaze. “ The tests are correct. I am not being framed. I deserved the punishment. ” That’s all Joffrey is going to say. He has no intention to elaborate.
“ Joff, ” Daeron reaches out to grab Joffrey’s shoulder but the beta flinches away.
“ Don’t Joff me. Go to the living room. I will bring you a change of clothes so you can be on your way. ” Joffrey turns to leave, not looking back.
Daeron sighs. He pushes himself from the sink and walks to the living room. He glances at the dark kitchen, surprised to find the glass shreds still lying on the floor.
The living room is not as cold as before. Daeron settles on the couch, mindlessly brushing his finger along the bandaged wounds, as if he could still feel Joffrey’s gentle touch. He has some spare clothes at Joffrey’s place so that he can go to work straight from here after a night of passionate sex. Daeron never thinks they will come in handy under such circumstances.
Joffrey’s phone on the coffee table lights up. Apparently, there is an incoming message. Daeron can only see part of the message from the notification screen, but he sees the sender, Mr. Qarl. Daeron doesn’t know a Mr. Qarl, which triggers his curiosity. He has put his face id into Joffrey’s phone so technically he could unlock it, if Joffrey didn’t delete his profile. Daeron hesitates but eventually his curiosity wins. He grabs the phone and looks into the front camera. The phone unlocks, sending a warm feeling of relief and an anxious shiver down Daeron’s spine at the same time.
Joff, I saw the news. Are you OK? Do you need me to vouch for you? I can send a statement about your condition to the boxing committee. I am sure they will understand.
“ What are you looking at? ” Joffrey’s cold voice startles Daeron, almost making him drop the phone. Joffrey walks in, a forest green wool coat and a beige cashmere sweater in his hands.
“ Put down my phone. ” Joffrey demands, or rather, spits.
“ Who is Mr. Qarl? What is this condition he talks about? ” Daeron asks, harsher than he intends, raising the phone screen to Joffrey’s eyes.
Joffrey goes pale. Panic begins to take over all his senses.
Daeron is not backing down. He can be all friendly and polite on the outside, but deep down he is as much a Targaryen as any of his siblings.
“ What a re you hiding from me? ” Daeron takes a step forward, but Joffrey immediately takes an equal step back, his free hand unconsciously resting on his lower abdomen.
“ It’s none of your business. ” Joffrey says, biting his lip. He slowly retreats, which is so unlike him because Joffrey never escapes from a fight.
“ Tell me! ” Daeron grabs Joffrey’s wrist, sending the coat and sweater to the floor.
What is Joffrey hiding from him? Why is Joffrey acting this way ? Daeron will have none of it. He was naïve to think he could let Joff rey go. When Bethany approached him, begging him to agree to the engagement, Daeron, the utter fool he is, said yes.
“I am with child.” Bethany said with teary eyes, “Father will never accept my partner. Please, Daeron, I can’t let father take away my child.”
D aeron regarded her, the little cousin from the Hightower side of his family. Bethany was not the only one whose partner would never be accepted. Daeron thought of Joffrey, who would bite Daeron’s shoulder every time he was overstimulated, leaving the alpha covered in bite marks and saliva afterwards. Sex with Joffrey is never tender, more like a fight for dominance. Joffrey will challenge Daeron’s alpha in every possible way, but once Daeron has him pinned down and runs a hand over the sensitive skin above his erection, Joffrey will tremble and cave in.
Joffrey may not be a submissive and ideal omega, but Daeron wouldn’t have him any other way.
“ You don’t have to love me or my child, you can do whatever you like after the marriage. We can perform our duty and live our lives.” Bethany’s suggestion was like opium, too tempting to say no.
Daeron thought he could have Joffrey forever. Never once does he think the possibility of Joffrey with anyone else. He couldn’t bear the thought of Joff in another man’s arms. He may never be able to mark Joffrey, but their bond is stronger than most of the bonds of alphas and omegas.
Joffrey kicks him in the shin and runs in to the nearest room, which is the kitchen. Daeron hisses in pain but runs after Joffrey with determination. The l ights in the kitchen are still out and the floor is slippery, causing Joffrey to trip and fall on th e pile of broken glass.
Daeron rushes to him, crouching down and cradling Joffrey’s shaved head in his lap. Joffrey doesn’t struggle, just squeezes his eyes shut and moans in pain . Blood begins to trickle down his forehead and there is broken glass in his cheek.
“ Joff, stay with me. Stay with me. ” Daeron repeats in Joffrey’s ear, and with a shaking hand, he makes a call.
W hen Lucerys gets the call, he panics a bit . By panic, he means he squeezes Aemond’s thigh a little too hard, leaving finger-shaped bruises on Aemond’s pale skin.
“ Stay where you are. Dr. Gerardys is on his way. So are we. ” Lucerys instructs, gesturing for Aemond to get up. Thank the Seven they already put their kids to bed.
Aemond grunts but complies anyway. He throws on his swea ter and pants before getting the car key. Lucerys is still on the phone, talking miles, so Aemond takes it upon himself to wrap Lucerys in warm clothes and lead the omega to the garage.
“We need a distraction.” Lucerys says as he types fiercely on his phone. They are already on their way to Joffrey’s apartment, Aemond’s foot almost flat on the accelerator.
“It’s 2:30am, love. I don’t think any media will be this diligent.” Aemond replies as he drives the car through an empty street. He loves racing cars, although he hasn’t had the chance to drive like this after the twins were born.
“You don’t know what they are capable off. I have to give them something so that they can keep their hands off my baby brother. At least for a while.” Lucerys thinks for a moment, “Give me your phone.”
“I am using navigation.”
“No, not this one. The flowery one.” Lucerys sets out to fish the private cell phone in Aemond’s pocket. Aemond’s private phone is covered in silly stickers, courtesy of their little girl, so Lucerys always calls it the flowery one. The omega’s hand is soft and warm, sending unnecessary electricity down Aemond’s spine. Aemond vows to make Daeron suffer for interrupting his time with Lucerys.
“Are you trying to trade our nudes to cover up Daeron’s mess?” Aemond questions, quirking an eyebrow at his husband.
“What? NO.” Lucerys side glances at him as if Aemond suddenly grows another head. “No one’s allowed to see you naked except me. Anyway, I am sending that photo you took last summer at the pool party, where Aegon got drunk and had half his ass exposed.”
The car stops at the entrance of the apartment. Lucerys is relieved to meet the trusted family doctor, Dr. Gerardys there. Truth be told, so is Aemond.
When Joffrey comes to, he finds himself lying on his own bed, head pounding, limbs numb, left cheek stinging like thousands of ants crawling under his skin. He blinks a few times, trying to chase the dizziness away, but his version remains in a blur. Joffrey lets out a soft moan, if the world keeps spinning, he’s sure to vomit.
“Joff?” A handsome face comes into view, short curly silver hair plastered to his forehead. Daeron looks worse for wear, with a huge bruise forming on his cheek, and h e has dried blood around his nose .
“Go away.” Joffrey groans , closing his eyes again. “Your hair is hurting my eye.”
There is a shift and Joffrey feels the lights dim and someone is stroking his temples, applying the right pressure to ease the dizziness. Daeron’s fingers are cool, balm to Joffrey’s pounding head.
“What happened to your face?” Joffrey opens his eyes slightly, taking in Daeron’s battered appearance. He doesn’t have the energy to fight, so he resigns to let Daeron massage his head.
" Lucerys punched me. For hurting his baby brother.” Daeron answers, a sad smile on his lips, “I guess I deserved it.”
“Yes, you do. You are a disrespectful, over bearing dickhead who thinks too high ly of himself. Lucerys should work on his uppercut. I can do much better than him.”
D aeron doesn’t reply or try to deny Joffrey’s accusation.
“Dr. Gerardys says you have anemia and you are on pheromone meds, but he wouldn’t tell me what’s going on with you. ” Daeron pauses for a moment before speaking in an incredibly soft voice, “Joff, is there…is there something I should know? Would you tell me, please?”
People may think Daeron is soft judging by his friendly attitude. The normal one, the soft Targ, the weakness in the otherwise impeccable Targ empire. Little do they know that Daeron can be as ruthless as
Joffrey takes a deep breath. He can stay silent but a part of him wants to tell Daeron the truth. He wants Daeron to know that there was a child between them, a tiny, feeble thing that represents their feeble relationship. He wants Daeron to mourn for their child, to be plagued by the idea of what might have been. Joffrey isn’t seeking comfort from the alpha; he just wants Daeron to share his guilt.
“You want to know the truth?” Joffrey speaks in a mocking tone, grabbing one of Daeron’s hands to rest on his lower abdomen. “Our child died there, inside of me. I was, no, we were stupid to do it raw. Turns out I am fertile even though I am only a beta.”
D aeron’s world shatters. He suspects the truth may have something to do with child, as the mad reporter mockingly called him the baby daddy. For a split second, Daeron dares to think his dream might have come true. Joffrey may be carrying his baby. Even if Joffrey is not pregnant now, Daeron can make sure to put babies into his feral lover.
“Our child was there, then it wasn’t. Do you know how I lost it?” Joffrey tightens his grip on Daeron, “I was distressed and the lack of alpha pheromone made the fetus weak. You engaged to someone else without even telling me. What do you think I am? Your whore? That you can fuck without consequences?”
D aeron wants to say no, but no word would come out. He just stares at Joffrey’s face twisted in anger, trying desperately to break off from Joffrey’s death grip.
“No. Don’t you dare back away now. I want you to feel it. I want you to know that you are guilty of killing your child. You are a murderer.” Joffrey’s words are full of venom, making Daeron’s hair stand s on end. “We both are.”
D aeron feels like all air has been punched out of his lung. Joffrey is holding back tears, chestnut-colored eyes glistening in the dim room, but he refuses to let go of Daeron’s hand. He holds Daeron there, forcing the alpha to feel the rise and fall of his stomach.
“ Have you ever cared about us? About me?” Joffrey asks through gritted teeth. “You never want to make it official, because you are afraid you will lose your place at the family. I waited for you, Daeron, but I am done waiting.”
O f course he cares. Daeron might be a coward not to admit his love to Joffrey out loud but he does care. He only says yes to Bethany because he sees it as an opportunity to fulfill the duty without bonding himself to anyone other than Joffrey.
J offrey lets go and turns on his side despite the overwhelming dizziness, his back now to Daeron.
“Go back to your omega fiancée and be a perfect son.” Joffrey says coldly.
“Joff, let me explain-” Daeron’s voice cracks, he feels his own tears threaten to run down his face.
“Get the fuck out of my sight.” Joffrey’s words are like swords piercing though Daeron’s heart.
D aeron inhales deeply before getting up from his seat. Joffrey has a point; he has no right to stay here. He casts a final glance to Joffrey’s back, forcing himself to ignore the slight tremble in the beta’s frame. Daeron tells Lucerys who waits impatiently outside that Joffrey’s awake but has severe headache.
“Joffrey likes chocolate chip ice-cream when he’s upset.” Daeron tells Lucerys as he gathers all his things in the apartment, “He thinks it’s too girly and refuses to let any body else know. He likes it with sour skittles. Make sure he doesn’t eat the whole canton in one go.”
“Ice-cream won’t fix my brother .” Lucerys seems unimpressed, the little crease between his eyebrows looking extremely similar to Aemond. “Are you giving up on him?”
“No.” Daeron throws the duffle bag on his shoulder, “But he doesn’t want to see me now. I have my own things to sort out. Better get to work.”
He exchanges a look with Aemond, who regards him for a long moment before stepping aside to let him through.
“Punch with your core, not just your arms.” Joffrey says to a little boy with raven dark hair and a sturdy build. “Do that sequence again. Jab, hook and uppercut.”
R ickon Stark nods and resumes training. Lucerys’s twins are eager to get into their own boxing gear as well, mini Aemond has black gloves while his twin brother has blue ones. Joffrey has them practice their stance first.
“You are good with kids.” Jacaerys observes from his spot on a recliner.
“You only say that so I will continue to babysit your stepson.” Joffrey jokes casually, taking a large gulp from his water bottle.
“ Jace is not wrong.” Lucerys sips on a strawberry shake while scrolling mindlessly down his social media feed. “Oh, your photo shoot with Rhaena is trending, Joff. You sure you don’t want to be a model? I can make that happen right now.”
S urprisingly, it is Alicent’s idea to get Joffrey on the photo shoot for her newest sportswear line. I want a real athlete, not one of those fake models, says the head of the Apparel subsidiary of Targ Group and wife of the current Chairman Vizzy T.
“ New season starts next month. I am ready to go back to the ring.” Joffrey replies.
One year ago, the Targs went through a tough time. First, the youngest Velaryon brother, Joffrey Velaryon was accused of stimulant abuse. Although his name was cleared after a statement made by a renowned doctor, Joffrey decided to take the season off. He traveled to Lys, spending time with daddy Laenor and Mr Qarl before flying out to Winterfell to enjoy winter sports and hot springs. It turned out that the current CEO of Stark Tech, Cregan Stark, along with his son Rickon, were die-hard boxing fans and had rooted for Joffrey. Jace rolled his eyes but gave Joffrey a crashing hug.
“Do you want me to send northern troops down to kick Daeron’s ass? I am sure Cregan won’t mind.” Jacaerys whispered to his ear, “We can sabotage his wedding and give his Hightower fiancée a good scare.”
“What did you do to my brother?” Joffrey pretended to be scandalized, “Give my righteous Jace back please.”
“Just trying to return the favor. You punched enough douchebags for me, so it’s time for me to protect you, baby brother.” Jacaerys ran a hand through Joffrey’s shaved head, “So what do you say?”
“There is no need, but I appreciate the gesture.” Joffrey laughed before being dragged away by Rickon for an autograph.
J offrey was right. There was indeed no need to sabotage the wedding because all the guests were shocked to find a Dornish man standing at the altar with Bethany Hightower. The Hightowers recognized him as one of the bodyguards assigned to protect Bethany. Otto Hightower shouted to stop the ceremony but it was too late. Vizzy T nearly had a heart attack. Bethany married her baby daddy right in front of her father and her great-uncle. Everyone was shocked but in a good way. The only one disappointed was Lucerys because he already had a perfect sabotage plan in mind, too bad he didn’t have the chance to carry it out. Aemond was secretly relieved that he didn’t have to call the legal team.
After he recovered, Viserys was furious. He called Daeron to his office. No one knew what they talked about, but there was shouting and cursing. Daeron left Targ Group the next day. One month later, he joined Highgarden Consulting Group. He made to the M&A director in less than six months, the fastest promotion in the industry. The Tyrells insisted the promotion was hard earned. We wouldn’t promote a useless fool. The Targ’s loss is our gain .
J offrey hasn’t heard from Daeron for this time. He only gets bits of news and gossip from Lucerys. He pretends he doesn’t care, but when he learned Daeron was practically disowned, he was ready to call Viserys himself and beg for forgiveness. It was Aemond who stopped him. Daeron wasn’t fired. He left voluntarily. I know my brother and I am sure you do as well. There is nothing to stop him from getting what he REALLY wants. Don’t waste his effort.
Joffrey stays at a townhouse in Rhaenyra’s name. Jacaerys and Lucerys visit him quite often with the kids. They sleep at the pillow fortress they build in the living room, just like when they were children.
L ife is good for Joffrey Velaryon. He loved a man once, and lost a child for him. He had a rising career that took a downturn but he is ready to regain place. He has a good family and two caring brothers. He feels invincible when he steps into the boxing ring, facing his first opponent after a long hibernation. He wins. He beats all his opponents in this low-ranking tournament with incredible ease. When he earns the belt, he sees familiar figure cheering for him, the signature silver hair distinguishing him from the crowd.
Joffrey feels like he was 17 again, earning his first professional belt. Daeron was there, in cap and masks, but now he proudly shows his signature Targaryen feature. Their eyes meet, and Daeron’s expression melts to something tender, loving and vulnerable. He still wears the pendant Joffrey got him. Joffrey feels himself beaming, waving at Daeron, who waves back.
Maybe it is the cue to start again.