The Darkness of Day

by WalkingPotterGirl14

He put a dagger in her heart. She died. End of story. Or was it? The Gods decide that there's more to tell, more to save, and more heartbreak to follow in the story of Daenerys and Jon's lives, starting with new revelations right outside their doors. (Rated T until chapter 26, Fix-it Fic, obvious spoilers for the show)

40. Jon: After the Battle

Hello everyone! I know it's been a little longer than usual but I'm back again with a new chapter! Thank you to:

DarylDixon'sLover

TheAttemptedWriter

Lillian81

Jana

tonywarrior

Perseus Apollyon

Herraidous

MiaMia

MayaFaya

Your reviews helped me write this despite my crazy life going on right now haha, and welcome to all the new followers and favorites! sorry again that this came a little later than we wanted but I just finished a big move to a new apartment so now I'm finally settled a little bit! This chapter is a good mix of smut, fighting and fluff, as you'll see, and I made it extra long to make up for the wait, so I hope you enjoy! :)

---

Jon

Walking through the pyramid again, Jon could feel a thousand memories slamming past him. From the moment he first arrived here with Dany and their children, to their training sessions together, to the moment he found out about his family and what they had done…yes, both good and bad things had happened, but he was happy to say he at least looked back on this place with a hint of happiness.

He looks at Daenerys as she glances into the audience chamber, where she had sat so many times. Quietly, she walks in with a soft smile on her cheeks, looking up at the throne, the stone bench, that she had taken up residence on.

"It's strange," she says softly, her voice echoing through the room. "How long I had sat on that bench, and yet this doesn't feel like home anymore." She looks back at him. "I never thought when I was younger I would find somewhere that fits so perfectly with who I was, but now…now it feels so right to be in Valyria. Doesn't it?" She looks over at the bench again. "I mean, even the thrones are mellow compared to the ones in Valyria."

He couldn't stop looking at her. That same smile on her lips that he had grown so used to, mixed with the blood and the armor that she had on, had him laughing, trying to contain it. She looks over at him with a raised brow, and he shakes his head.

"I'm sorry, Dany. You just look so different from when I first met you again." He walks over to her, resting his hands against her clothed hips. "You look like a complete copy of Visenya Targaryen. You would make her proud."

Daenerys smiles at his words. "Then that's a good thing, isn't it?" she asks him, before bringing her hands up to his cut cheeks. "You would make your ancestors proud as well – both the ones by blood and the ones who are not."

Jon feels himself sigh a little. While he had come to accept who he was much more now, he was still always thinking about what Ned would think of him. Even though he was his uncle by blood, he was still the man who had raised him. Had at least tried to give him a home when Catelyn and the others never would. Only Robb and Arya had seemed to care.

"Would he though?" he asks her. "I don't know if Ned Stark of all people would advocate for all this bloodshed."

"See, that's the difference, however," she says to him gently. "You did not want this bloodshed, but they gave you no choice. They gave neither of us a choice. We had to attack or else they would have easily taken over the city. I'm sure Ned would have done the same thing if no one was cooperating. Your uncle was an honorable man – at least from the stories I've heard. But he also cared about his family. He reminds me of you. So trust me, I believe he would be proud."

Jon smiles a little at her words to him, feeling a bit better about what they had done. As she turns to look back at the bench again, she cringes and trips a bit, leaning against the wall. Jon's demeanor instantly changes and he looks over at her in concern. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, I'm okay…it's only the gash." She shrugs and looks up at him. "I can't be as quick as you, yet. Dan is probably quicker, honestly."

"Oh, stop," he mutters, taking her hand in his. "Come on, I think you need a bath. Both of us do." As he pulls her away from the wall, making sure his hands were secure around her, he looks to the entrance as suddenly two fluffy, white beasts come running at them, howling at the air. Before he could even stop them, Ghost jumps up into his arms, knocking Jon clean onto the floor.

Daenerys laughs as she sits down gently, petting the excited young Ari as Ghost licked at Jon's face. Jon shakes his head and lowers the direwolf down, chuckling.

"Alright, boy. We're back, calm down," he chuckles a bit, before turning to look at Daenerys. "We're going to need to bring them back with us."

"Of course we are," Daenerys states, watching as Ari sat at her heels. "And once we do, Dan is going to be quite happy…I must say even if we were planning on staying, I did miss these two. I love my dragons but there's something about a big fluffy direwolf that makes you smile."

Jon snorts. "Wait until you see how he hunts. I don't know how comfortable these two are going to be in the warm weather, though."

"We can make sure they're in a cool room," she reassures him. "There's plenty of chambers in the castle. I'm sure we can find a nice large one where they would be relaxed to sleep in, and when they wanted to come out they could." As she goes to stand she cringes again, holding her side, while Jon helps her up once more. She smiles a bit at him, holding him tightly as he helps her walk out of the room, the direwolves now at their side.

"Let's go take that bath, shall we?" he asks her, to which she nods, holding her cut side.

---

Once they reached her chambers, Jon could feel himself smiling a little more. So many memories were in this room as well, but he held that back and focused his eyes back on her, helping her out of her armor – he would have someone clean it later – and making sure that she was okay before stepping out of his own.

The direwolves jump onto her bed, where it seems that they had taken residence while they were gone due to the large clumps of white fur on the piece, and settle their heads down, going to rest. Jon helps Dany stand again and walks her towards the bathing chambers, where he sits her against the bed and starts to remove her garments.

"There's so much we need to do before we go back to Valyria," she mutters, sighing. "I hope the children are alright."

"The children are going to be fine," he reassures her, chuckling a little. "They're our children. I'm sure they're just playing with their dragons or whatever."

Daenerys smiles a little and nods. "I know…but I'm their mother. I can't help but worry."

As soon as his hands touch her cool skin, once her last piece of dress is removed, he feels himself bite his lip. She had gotten more than just her gash – there were a couple of harsh cuts along her body that needed some serious aiding – but he had trained himself to learn how to do that after the number of fights he had been in.

She looks at him concerned once he doesn't say anything. "Are they ugly?" He could sense her self-consciousness about the scars.

But he shakes his head instantly and presses his lips against hers, feeling her body relax slightly. When he pulls back, he strokes her cheek. "Daenerys, you still look just as beautiful as the day I first met you. Nothing could ever turn you ugly in my eyes." And to that, she smiles. "However…there are more cuts here than I thought there would be. We're going to need to stay in here for a bit so they can clot up heal a little before I do some aid to them after. The water will help soothe it."

"Alright," she agrees quietly, watching as he prepared a bath for her, igniting the coals underneath to make it as hot as it could go. When he steps back to help her into the water, her hand stops him. "You're going to join me, right?"

He sighs. "Dany, you need to heal."

"I didn't say anything about that. Why waste water when the bath can fit two?" she asks innocently. He gives her a look, knowing that usually whenever they took a bath together it led to something else, but besides that, she did have a point. They needed to be quick to get back to their people and taking time with two baths would be in question.

"Fine, you win," he says to her, starting to remove his own garments to join her. Even so, while blood was still drying on his skin, her eyes looked over him hungrily. "Dany, no."

She chuckles and shakes her head. "Alright, alright…if you say so." He takes off his last piece and picks her up into his arms, lowering them into the water. He could feel her hiss from the sudden warmth that hit her wounds, but after a moment, she closes her eyes and calms down, letting her head rest against his shoulder. He leans in and presses a gentle kiss to her neck before starting to trail water down her skin.

It was quiet between the two of them while he washed her skin, making sure to get any ounce of dirt, blood or ash off of her that might have leaked through due to the armor. It was a nice set that Eleana had made for them, but he knew that if they continued to fight in them he would have to get them buffed a bit so they wouldn't allow as much damage. Dany, even though she could fight, was still experienced. She needed as much protection as she could get.

"This does feel nice," she admits softly after a minute, looking up at him. "The warm water, I mean. It's really helping the main gash."

"I told you. You have to listen to me," he chastises while he goes to her face, scrubbing at her cheeks. She rolls her eyes.

"I always listen to you."

"About battling, I mean – you're still very new to this. The last thing I want is for you to get hurt because of something you don't understand completely yet." He looks at her and sees a shift in her eyes, knowing that he had said something wrong. "I don't mean to insult your skills out there, Daenerys. You did an excellent job and I would be glad to fight alongside you again. But judging by how many hits you took to me, you do need more training, both with the sword and how to deal with the pain. And I want to teach that to you. But just because you were hit a couple of times, it doesn't change the fact that you did absolutely amazing out there and I'm so proud of you."

Daenerys smiles a little at his praise but sighs. "I didn't want to just be on Drogon…I wanted to help. I can't be a real ruler if I'm not willing to risk myself in the process of what I believe in. I know I need more training…but that's why I have you," she says with a soft smile, looking up at him. "I know you're the best for the job."

Her compliment fills him with warmth, but he tries to keep his focus on her. "Thank you, Dany." He grabs the cloth and moves it away from her face. "I'm going to focus on your cuts now. If I hurt anything, just let me know."

Daenerys nods, moving so that he could reach under the water to help her wounds. As soon as the cloth touches it she does cringe a bit, the pain obviously still there, but other than that, she relaxes, letting him do his work. While he cleans it out, she bites her lip, her brow furrowed. "Gods, we have so much that we have to do here. I have to write it all down."

"We can list it out right now," he says to her gently, his eyes focused on the wound.

"I suppose…well first we need to deal with the slave masters," she states, letting out a deep sigh. "We have to figure out how exactly we're going to send them back to their cities when most of their ships are destroyed. Many of the families that we chose to take over are here with us today…but their people are now. We can't send them there if the ones who follow aren't going too."

Jon nods quietly. "How about once we finalize this trade with Yara, we can bring them to Valyria for the time being?"

Her brow furrows as she looks to him. "What do you mean? Have the slave traders live amongst us?"

"No," he states, pulling back to look at her for a moment. "We would keep an eye on them, have them locked up as much as we could. But in the meantime, the families we've chosen can gather their supporters to leave Valyria with the slave traders, that way there's no chance of them gaining power. Once the dragonlords and their followers are with them, it will be much easier to govern. The slaves…as much as I don't want to say this, they are vulnerable – at least from what I've seen. The moment they see those Dragonriders with their followers, they'll want to go to them to get out of the beatings they get – at least if that is their choice. But the transition will go much smoother if we do something like that."

Daenerys nods, digesting every word he said. "That could work," she says softly, looking at him. "I'm more concerned about where we would put them. The dungeons aren't that large and there's already some of the old loyalists in there. I have a feeling they are starting to change their minds but it's going to be hard to…find somewhere to put them."

"The slave traders we can lock up. There's plenty of cells for that," he explains to her. "The soldiers we can keep on whatever ship we have and have it under guard for the time being that they are there. We have plenty of men who would be willing to do so."

"Alright, I see where you're going with this," she says. "But then there's a part of that which includes our second order of business – Yara."

"She hasn't arrived yet."

"But she will," she says to him gently. "Remember, it is still early on in the day. She'll probably arrive by midday and then we need to work out a trade with her…Yara stood by me when many of my allies either were killed or left me. I have to help her."

Jon nods. "She always seemed…like a good fighter," he states, struggling with words. "Forgive me – I only ever knew Theon well. His sister seemed to be a bit..." He trails off, but Daenerys raises an eyebrow.

"Aggressive?" He nods to that, which causes her to chuckle. "I can agree to that, but it's the sort of allies we need. She was also very into me when we first met."

Jon's brow raises. "You…you were serious about that when you were talking with Arya?"

"Yes, Jon," she laughs, his cheeks turning red. "Gods, I can't tell you how many of my allies have tried. That's why being with you is so special – I don't just give it to anyone. They have to at least mean something to me – or mean everything to me."

Jon smiles at her lovely eyes, filled with appreciation for the man in front of her, but after a moment he clears his throat and glances at her wound again. "So, do you, uh…think she might hit on you again?"

Daenerys was quiet, but the smirk on her face spoke volumes. "I'd be surprised if she didn't, honestly. Yara Greyjoy has always been keener towards women."

"Would you ever, uh…do that?"

Daenerys gives him a look that makes him feel stupid but he couldn't help it. With men, Jon knew that he would never let another one touch Daenerys. But he had never thought of her being, well, attracted to other women. He knew that plenty of people did it but he never thought she would.

"Jon, even if I did, don't you think I would tell you?" she chuckles, shaking her head. "And to answer your question, no, I will not be screwing Yara fucking Greyjoy of all people. She's a flirt. You can tell from how she speaks. But I doubt that it'll ever be like that." Jon nods, at least a little pleased with her answer. "Although if I had to for ships-"

"Dany-"

"Relax, I'm joking," she snickers, reaching down to grab his hand. "Trust me. I'll tell her right away at our meeting that I am with you. I'm sure she will have some…questioning about it. But she'll have no choice but to accept if she wants our help."

Jon splashes her at her joke but feels himself chuckling a bit as well. He loved Daenerys but there was no way he was losing her to some Greyjoy. The Starks had already dealt with one that was close to their homes. He didn't need to deal with another. "What are you thinking of giving her?" he asks her.

Daenerys bites her lip a bit as Jon takes water into her hair, starting to wash the dirty tendrils. "Well, we're going to listen to her concerns, first of all. In the letter, it said that she's in desperate need of supplies and food, but we don't know for sure what kind of supplies and food she is speaking of. Once we know what it is, we will see what we can offer her in exchange for her ships for our shipping system and to see if she can aid us in helping the slavers get back to Valyria."

Jon looks down at her, an idea coming to him. "Might I suggest…something else as well?"

"What do you have in mind, my king?"

The moment she said that he realized with a start that he quite enjoyed it a lot more coming from her mouth now. It was growing to be normal. "Yara hates Bran. As do many others, but Yara probably the most. He destroyed her home. I know that you said you've had spies in Westeros bring information here regarding books and such, but what if we…had our own spies?"

Daenerys leans forward, intrigued. "I'm listening."

"We've been spied on by that raven, right?" he asks, referring to Bran, to which she nods. "No matter what, there's nothing we can really do to stop him except somehow have Kinvara help us with it – maybe have her put up some sort of border or I don't know. But we've never really had someone relay in on the enemy. If you count Gendry I guess that's one person but he isn't there anymore. Yara is always there and I'm sure has a disdain for the king. She would probably be willing to give us the information we need to properly be ready if something or someone would attack us. And after all the help we'd be giving her, I think it would be a fair trade."

Daenerys bites her lip, clearly thinking about what he was saying. "It's a good idea…but there's one thing I'm a little concerned about." She gestures to the water. "Yara lives on islands, far away from the mainland of Westeros even though she is a part of it. It might be hard for her to relay information to us."

"Then she can send her men to do it," Jon continues. "She's always had this army of supporters who I'm sure hate the king as much as she does. It would be a win-win scenario. She gets the necessary supplies that she needs, while we get some of her ships and information on Westeros."

Daenerys nods to his words, smiling a bit. "It'll help us better defend before something bad happens…I think that would be an excellent point to bring up to her." She raises an eyebrow at him. "When did you become someone who spies?"

"I'm not. That's why I'm asking other people to do it for me." Daenerys snorts, letting her head fall back against the tub while Jon was scrubbing it. He chuckles and tilts it back up. "Don't rest now, I'm almost done."

It was silent between the two as his rough fingers ran through her hair, trying to get out any ounce of dirt in it, watching as the water turned a different color beneath them. There was something so serene about this. Just a little bit ago they had been fighting, slicing people open to kill in a battle that would determine the safety of the citizens. And now they were in a bathtub just relaxing. It was funny how things sometimes turned out.

"I have another qualm with Westeros too," Daenerys suddenly says from her spot. Jon drops his hands as she turns to look at him, now fully clean, but there was a worrisome look in her eyes.

"What is it?" he asks her gently.

Daenerys looks at the water and then outside, before back at him. "Do you remember that third letter? The one from the North?" Jon nods, his mind thinking back to the writing from the person who had been suffering. "I want to help them."

Jon feels his eyes close in disdain. "Dany…"

"I know what you're going to say – that I'm out of my mind for wanting to and that they don't deserve our help after what they did, but Gendry has a point. It was the nobleman of Westeros who did that to us, not the innocent people who are just trying to live. And while I know that I shouldn't go back there for fear of my safety and our children, I do want to help…which is why I talked this over with Arya before."

Jon's brow furrows. "My sister?"

"Yes. She agreed that if she and a couple of her men can be sneaky and not get caught, they would be able to bring rations over from our city to the North. I mean think about this, Jon. Valyria is absolutely blooming with all different kinds of life, ones that people barely know exist yet. It can't all be locked away only to be used within our walls. It has to be shared. I want to share it…I just can't stop thinking of the little boys and girls who might be starving in the North right now, in those freezing temperatures…food is the only thing that could keep them going and we're keeping it from them because of what….fear of Sansa? We have to help."

Jon looks at her, feeling his shoulders drop. He had never thought Daenerys of all people would agree to something like this, wanting to help out the country that got them killed, for fuck's sake. But in her eyes, he could see there was nothing but pure honesty and the truth. So, after a while, he slowly nods.

"I…love you, Dany," he starts, looking up at her. "I really do. So you have to understand why I'm a bit…two-sided with this. I don't want this to go bad and have the North finding out and then have Valyria as well as my family up in flames and blood everywhere. But this is who you are…a ruler with an iron fist and a good heart, and there's nothing I can do to change that. And if Arya is on board with it…I guess I have to be too."

Daenerys instantly shakes her head. "Jon, we're a team. I don't want to push you into anything you don't want to do."

"No, I do," he says to her softly. "I do, believe me. As much as I don't care much for some of the noblemen up there anymore, I do care for the people. I've only been concerned about your safety. But if we play it right…we can see how much help we can do for the people of the North."

Daenerys smiles at his response and wraps her arms around him tightly, letting out a deep breath. He chuckles a little at her reaction as his hand rubs against her back.

"Did you think I would say no?" he asks her gently.

"I…I didn't know what you would think," she answers honestly, pulling back to look at him. "I know how you feel regarding the North now…I didn't know if you would want to help the people. I just…can't stand the idea of children starving in the freezing cold."

"I know," he sighs, looking at the water. "I don't like the idea of it either. That's why I'm agreeing to it." He looks at her and sees the sad expression spread across her eyes. "What's wrong?"

Daenerys sighs and glances at the water, the same as he did. "I wish there was more we could do…give them a home and somewhere better than just sneak them food and other items. But it's just what has to be done. They can't find out it's us…at least for a while."

Jon nods gently, pulling forward and resting his hands against her own. "They'll find plenty of help from us even if they don't know." She nods and swallows, before turning her back and resting it against his own. He sinks into the water, feeling her relax against his arms, letting out a soft sigh as the warm liquid soothed his muscles.

"You know," she states softly. "Something else has been on my mind." She turns her head to look at Jon. "What the fuck are we going to do with Daario down in the dungeons? He's been here this whole time."

Jon groans, suddenly remembering exactly that. "Right…honestly, with everything that's been going on I completely forgot about him." He looks down at her and smiles a little. "Have to say I've been a bit distracted."

He finishes that statement with a soft kiss to the nape of her neck, which causes her to giggle before shaking him off of her. "Don't be like that now. We have to figure out what we're going to do with him…I've kept saying for ages I want to kill him and a part of me still does, but I really don't know what we would do that would be…fitting. He killed you. Are we just going to do the same thing we did to the former monarchs?"

Jon bites his lip, trying to think of ways in which to end that situation when suddenly an idea comes to him. "What about…servitude?"

Her brow raises in complete shock. "Servitude? You want to keep the man that killed you, alive, and have him serve you? Are you daft?"

"I didn't say me," he chuckles a little before looking down at her. "Hear me out. He's been down there for Gods know how long now. He's been permanently injured and crippled because of the injuries we've inflicted on him. There's no way he's ever going to be able to hold a sword the same way again. If we just kill him, we'll be putting him out of his suffering…but if we keep him alive, he can suffer for a much longer time and pay for what he did."

Daenerys brow furrows, but she was still clearly listening. "So you want him to serve…who then?"

"He hates both of us because we have much more power than him," Jon states quietly, which makes Dany snort. "What? What is it?"

"I'm pretty sure there's one other quite large reason why he doesn't like us – and that translates to your cock in me."

Jon rolls his eyes. "We weren't actually together when this happened." She gives him a look and he sighs. "Either way, it's not just that. He used to rule this city, used to be your number-one go-to man for everything. For fighting, for sex, for advice – at least for a little bit. And then all he was turned into was some servant who would occasionally train Daemon. What if we took away any kind of power he had beyond a cell and sent him to another dragonlord family to serve them. He doesn't have the strength to wield a sword anymore but he does to hold a teacup."

"So make him live out his days as a servant?" Daenerys asks him, to which he nods. "I must say…it's a little dark but it suits what he did. I'm more surprised that you don't want to kill him."

Jon sighs. "I don't care whether he lives or dies as long as he is far away from our family and you. That's all I care about. There are so many things that are much worse than Daario fucking Naharis. I don't want to focus my mind on him or waste any more energy. I'd rather trade him off to someone else who has the time."

Daenerys nods, understanding what he was saying. "Then I suppose we can do that…make sure that he's away from Valyria. That way we can have the dragonlords we assign him to keep an eye on him as well, make sure he doesn't fool around."

"Exactly," Jon agrees. "That way, he won't be our issue anymore and the ones we choose to rule over Meereen will have plenty of space to put whomever in the dungeons."

"You've really been thinking about this a lot," she states, causing him to shrug.

"Really I've only been thinking about it because I want to get back to my children as soon as possible," he admits gently to her, causing her to smile, a soft one that was filled with admiration and love. "I wish we could have taken them with us…I miss them already."

"I know…me too." She chuckles a bit and shakes her head. "When did we become these two people? I'm still in shock."

"Through a lot of hard work and training," he says to her gently, resting a hand against her cheek. "And a lot of fighting and fucking," he adds on bluntly, causing her to laugh. "But we're still here regardless. And I could never be happier." He leans down and presses her lips against his, a roaring passion fueling him. He hadn't wanted to do anything with her because he wanted her to heal, but a part of him was screaming 'take her now.'

He never understood why so many people said that a good fuck was always needed after a battle was won. Now he did. The power surge that went through him, as well as the blast of lust, was enough to knock any man on his knees.

He feels her straddle his lap, her arms wrapping around his neck while their lips stayed connected. Before they could continue, however, he stops her, breathing heavily. "Why are you stopping?" she whispers to him.

"I don't want to hurt you," he pushes out, struggling to contain himself. "You're still hurt. You need to rest."

"I can rest later," she reassures. "In your arms. I want you now."

"Dany-"

She suddenly reaches under the water and grabs his hardening cock, feeling himself freeze against her hands. He closes his eyes to stop himself from moaning and then opens them just barely to see her lust-filled gaze looking over him. "Jon, we have been through hell and back today. And now all I want is to lay in the arms of the man I love and get fucked so hard that the people in Valyria can hear. Can you do that for me, my king?"

That was enough to send him on a spiral. As much as he wanted to make sure that she was okay, he knew that when Dany talked to him like that it was always game over. He reaches a hand up from under the water to grab at the nape of her neck, pulling her down for a kiss full of hunger and need, their tongues combining in a passionate dance that they were familiar with.

He wraps her in his arms and stands up out of the tub – rather sorely, but still stands none the less – and walks her back into her room, their lips staying connected. Only for a moment did he pull away to tell the direwolves to go, but he could see that they had left while they had been bathing. He lays Daenerys down on the bed before walking to the door, closing it behind him before stalking his way back towards the furs.

Before he could climb on top of her, however, she reaches out and pulls him down, so that he was flat on his back. Before he could even say anything, she settles herself on top of his thighs while her fingers grab his cock, positioning herself above him, and then started to slowly slide down on top of it. He feels his head hit the back of the pillow, letting out a low groan.

It was no wonder so many men wished they were in his spot, right where he laid. They could touch themselves and fuck whomever they wanted, but there was no comparison to the heart of Daenerys' wet sex. Nothing in the world.

He grabbed at the furs beneath him, a fist-full, taking a deep breath as she moved her body up and down until he was fully sheathed inside of her. A part of him wanted to push back against her, grab her by the waist and fuck her until both of them came, but her eyes held him down, her face absolutely glowing, moaning softly.

"We couple…so fucking often," she whispers, her hands resting on his chest. "And yet you still feel just as amazing as the first time." Her body started to rock back and forth against him.

Jon holds her close to him, his hands resting on her skin. "Because I wanted you just as much then as I want you now."

He feels her chuckle as her hands crawl up his body, one holding onto his shoulder while the other tangles itself in his black curls. "I love you," she moans softly, her hips jerking forward.

Jon feels himself lie back, watching her as a shiver ran up his spine. Gods, she was so tight and warm, like an embrace after being out in a freezing cold night. Everything was wet and it felt so good. He could almost feel himself coming close, but he shakes his head. He didn't want to come yet. He wanted more, so much more. And as he looked up at her, her face flush with a smile on her lips and her eyes closed in pleasure, he realized all he wanted was her. Just her.

His arms wrap around her as he pushes himself upward, making her follow his movements with a gasp as he got even deeper within her, seating himself. Her legs wrap around his waist as he pushes back against her movements, beginning to find a rhythm with her own. He buries his nose in her neck, her pressing against him as he pushes up, their bodies mixing with sweat, sticky with passion, and wetness from her sex.

She buries her head against his own, biting gently as kisses trailed up his neck to where his ear was, whispering, "I waited for this all after the battle."

He could feel himself shutter. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I wanted…another place more."

His brow furrows. "Where did you want to do this?"

She pulls back her head and her hands rest against his cheeks, looking into his eyes. And without a shred of a lie, she leans in, kisses him, and then pulls back, nibbling his lower lip as she did. "I wanted you to fuck me in the throne room. Right on the steps."

Good gods this woman was fucking dirty.

He moans with the image stuck in his mind, eyes shut, his hands holding her tightly against him as he rocks against her, cock pulsing, wanting to come. But he didn't want that to end there. He unwinds a hand from her body and brings it down, rubbing at her sensitive clit, feeling her gasp once he did so.

"Jon," she gasps his name on her lips testing how far he could go. "Oh gods, right there, don't stop!"

It doesn't take long for him to push his movements more, trying to make her come as quickly as possible. And as soon as she shudders, her cunt tightening down onto his cock, moaning and gasping Valyrian so much that even he couldn't keep up, he allows himself to come as much as he had wanted to before, grunting in her neck as he shivered. They cling to each other, basking in the glow of their coupling, riding out both of their orgasms until they were fully sated.

After a moment, and only then, does he pull away and fall back onto the bed, his face stained red from exhaustion and breathing deeply.

"Fuck," he whispers, shaking his head, causing her to chuckle as she removes herself from him, dripping wet. "Fuck," he repeats.

It only causes her to laugh more as she settles her nude body against him. "Indeed we did," she jokes, causing him to roll her eyes, but he looks over with a soft smile, stroking her cheek with his finger. "I get it now."

His brow furrows at her words. "What do you get?"

"After a battle, how most men want to fuck," she states, causing him to laugh.

"I was thinking the same thing earlier," he snickers, letting his head rest back against the pillow. She crawls on top of him again, her smile sending him waves of happiness he didn't even know he could experience.

"I'm sorry about…climbing on top of you so quickly. I was quite…insatiable, I suppose."

Jon snorts and shakes his head. "Daenerys, you could literally climb on top of me anytime you wanted. That is not an issue with me." She smiles at his words and leans in, pressing her lips against his own. As soon as she pulls back, he rests his hands against her skin, just memorizing her again.

He still didn't know how he, out of all the unlucky bastards in the world, was able to be with this goddess of a woman in front of him.

"Jon?" she asks quietly, causing him to snap out of his gaze.

"Yes, my dragon?" he asks her.

"You said you had to ask me something before we left Valyria, after the slave masters," she says, causing him to blink in recognition. He had been so caught up in her and their coupling he had completely forgotten. "What was it?"

Jon looks at her, suddenly feeling his throat dry up. Why the fuck he was nervous when they were practically already married was beyond him, but it still came all the same. He tried to find the right words to ask, and when he felt like he did, there was a sudden knocking on the door, causing Dany and him to move their eyes.

"My queen?" 'For fuck's sake, Eleana, could you not have worse timing?!' he thinks angrily, letting out a soft sigh. "I'm sorry to interrupt you and the king. I'm sure you're healing in there. But Yara Greyjoy has arrived in the audience chamber."

Daenerys sighs and looks down at Jon. "What you wanted to ask – can it wait?" she asks him, an apologetic look in her eye. And as much as Jon wanted to say 'please, tell Yara fucking Greyjoy to fuck off,' he begrudgingly nods and manages a quiet smile.

"It can wait. We should take care of all this now," he says quietly. She leans down and kisses him quickly again before climbing out of bed. It was times like this where a part of him wished they weren't a king or a queen and they could just be themselves without anyone interrupting. But reality always came knocking. Literally.

"We'll be out in a little bit, Eleana!" Daenerys reassures her from beyond the door, getting dressed quickly. Jon gets up and pulls on some clothing that had been leftover from before, watching her mess with the braids in her hair, but realizes that it was far too wet from the bath still to do anything. She sighs and glances back at him. "I don't think I'll be able to change this at all," she states, looking over at him.

Jon shrugs and walks over to her, pulling on his tunic as he does so. "It's beautiful just the way it is, leave it down."

"But I-"

"Daenerys." He rests his hands against her cheek, stroking the skin softly. "Remember that we're trying to move on from the past. You don't need to wear your hair in braids all the time. It's alright if you just…let it down. You deserve it after that battle."

Daenerys bites her lip and sighs. "I…I want to but a part of me wants to keep that just between…you and I, or the children and I. My braids always symbolized my victories and everything that came with them…when someone lets their hair down in Dothraki culture it means they have lost."

"Yes, but you are not Dothraki," he says to her, chuckling a bit. "You may be their Khaleesi, but you are not their people. You're allowed to think your own way. And trust me, neither I nor the children are going to care if you share your beautiful hair with the rest of the world. If anything, I'd rather show them off to your beauty than anything else."

Daenerys smiles at him, her cheeks red, and nods. "Alright…then I suppose I can do that…let's go talk with Yara then." She takes his hand and he raises his brow at her.

"You want me to come to talk with her? She might want to kill me."

"Jon, you are my partner. If she has anything to say to me, she can say it to you as well. Now take my hand." She grabs his fingers without giving him an option and pulls him along once his boots are on, causing him to chuckle a bit. She was persistent, he would give her that.

But it was one of the thousands of reasons why he loved her.

---

When they saw the Greyjoy woman standing near the audience chamber, only then does Jon realize that some of their guards had set up a table for them to chat at. They must have done that while they were having their…escapade in their chambers.

"Yara," Daenerys starts, causing the woman to turn. "It's amazing to see you again."

"Sure as shit, it's true," the woman states, walking to where Daenerys stood. "When the world started to tell me that Daenerys fucking Targaryen was alive, I didn't believe them. Little did I know where you were." She reaches out and shakes the woman's hand before her eyes instantly move to Jon. The gaze the Greyjoy woman gives him lets him know this wasn't going to be fun. "And, uh…see you're with the murderer now."

Before Jon could say a word, Daenerys does for him. "Yara, if you wish for us to help you, you are going to have to treat Jon with the same respect as you would me," she warns, grabbing his hand into hers. "He is my partner. The person I am choosing to rule with. If you can't accept that, then we can't help you."

Yara looks at her and then at Jon, before letting out a deep sigh. "Forgive me, Daenerys…you must understand what it looks like from my point of view. For years I have been under the impression that he killed you in cold-blooded murder. He was sent off to the wall before I could get a proper story told to me. I supported you because I wanted to see a change on that stupid throne and hearing what happened enraged me. But if what you say is true, I will move past it for the sake of my people."

Daenerys nods, clearly happy to hear the woman say that. "Come, sit." She gestures to the table as the guards took stances around the room, making sure no one would come in. "I'm sure the others will join us soon as well."

"Including your sister?" Yara hesitantly asks Jon, who nods. "Last time she met me she warned she would slit my throat talking about you."

"Yeah, that sounds like her," Jon chuckles a bit, glancing at the table as they sat. "Don't worry, she's alright now. It was a different time." He takes his position next to Dany, his eyes still trained on Yara. "You said in your letter that your people were hurting because of what Bran did. Tell us exactly what he did do."

"Well first, may I ask a question?" she asks, looking at Daenerys. The queen nods. "Are you two married? Because I heard you have children. Are they there? I saw the wreckage outside and I must say – you and your dragons made quick work of it. I didn't believe it when I first saw it. But of course, the mother of dragons brought back Valyria. The rest of the world is going to have a shit-fest when they hear about this. Either way, what is your story?"

"Jon and I had twins," Daenerys explains. "After he killed me I was brought back here, where Kinvara, a red priestess from Volantis, brought me back. But my daughter vanished from the temple and apparently ended up with Jon – magic, I know. Five years later we met again, and the rest is history. We found Valyria because our children have these skills we have never seen, but apparently it's been kept a secret for hundreds of years, afraid to open up to the world again. Everything you could think about is all true – fire mages, blood magic, dragons, and castles, everything is still there. And we're expanding it to the new world."

Yara's brow furrowed. "But that still doesn't answer my question." She looks between the two of them. "Are you two still together or is that in the past, because if so I am always available, my queen."

Jon could feel himself practically roll his eyes off into the sky at her comment, but Daenerys seemed to take it with jest and chuckles. "I'm sorry, Yara, but that's off the table. I am with Jon. We have five children now."

Yara's eyes widen. "Five? How?"

"It wasn't from my womb if that's what you are thinking," Daenerys continues. "We adopted them into our family from the former king and queen that ruled Valyria."

"Alright, you have to explain all of this to me," Yara asks, clearly confused. "There's so much to this story I don't know. Start at the beginning."

And so she does, explaining what happened at each nook and turn of their lives the last couple of years. And surprisingly, Yara listened intently, from the discovering of Valyria to the takedown of the monarchs, all the way up to the attack at Meereen. Jon knew it shouldn't be too shocking because Yara herself was a warrior, someone who knew very well how to protect her people, but at the same time, he always felt that anyone from Westeros would never understand what they had gone through.

Afterward, she leans back in her seat and sighs. "Such a shame that you're with him. Missed out on something great. But as long as he treats you well, I shouldn't give a fuck." Her eyes turn to him suddenly. "Just know that if you ever betray her again I'll have you head sent to the islands."

"Trust me, it'll never happen again," Jon reassures, leaning back in his seat.

"Good." She turns her eyes back to Daenerys. "So you two are together and have a family – three of which are from another – but are you two…married?"

Daenerys glances at the ground and the sighs. "We have wanted to for a while but it never seemed like the right time. We didn't instantly get back together – it took a lot of time and trust – but even when we did and we were in Valyria, it seemed that one thing after another just kept happening and getting married seemed like a distant want. Our needs come after the needs of the people."

"But…they think you're married because of what Jon said?" Yara asks, to which Daenerys nods. "You two have gotten yourself into a bit of a problem, haven't you?"

Jon rolls his eyes before looking at her again. "What's happened between us and our family is our business only, but we've been trying t alleviate it with the things we've been doing to help people. Like stopping the slavers from taking over Meereen again."

"I can see that," Yara states, leaning back in her chair. "I saw the damage from afar. Seems the Mother of Dragons didn't want to fly herself?"

"No. And I'll continue not to for as long as I can," Daenerys states, causing Yara to look at her confused. "The last time I flew on a dragon in battle I burned down thousands of innocent lives. As much as that wasn't me, I refuse to take part in something like that again if I have to."

Yara's brow furrows. "What do you mean 'it wasn't you?' Last time I checked Daenerys Targaryen was the only person with dragons – until all of this, of course."

Daenerys exchanges a look at Jon and tells him to speak the story with her eyes, wanting there to be no secrets. So he does, his mouth moving quickly as he retold the story of how he found out his family had betrayed him, lied to them, and manipulated them, from the basilisk venom to the blood sorcery that was used. Yara's eyes stayed locked on him as he told it, and when he was done, she lets out a deep breath.

"For fuck's sake," she states, shaking her head. "You two have fucking maddening families. How could they do that to you? Didn't you save Sansa?"

"Didn't you save Theon?" Jon retorts, to which Yara raises a hand.

"Theon and Sansa's situations were completely different. Theon was tortured heavily to the point where Ramsey cut off his cock, and he mentally abused him so much that he didn't even go by his own name anymore. He was injured, unstable, and confused. But he still came back. He saved me on that ship when I was captured and brought me home. Even if he was hurt before, and he refused my help, he still became the brother that I knew. Sansa on the other hand was forced to marry and was raped – and while I can completely agree that what Ramsey did was sick and twisted, there was no way she could have saved herself without your help. Theon at least had a fighting chance because he knew how to fight, but Sansa needed to rely on people to get her out of there. And now she goes back on the one person who literally got hundreds of thousands of people together to take back her home, all so she could be a queen?" Yara shakes her head and leans against the chair once more. "This is all bullocks."

"Now do you see why we haven't returned to Westeros?" Daenerys asks her. "We know that people are suffering but they hate us. They don't want us there. We want to help as best as we can from afar, but after everything that's happened…we don't know who we can trust but the people who were loyal to us until the end. That's why we agreed to meet with you."

Yara nods quietly, sighing. "Well, I'm grateful. The Iron Islands haven't been getting any help from the crown. I can't believe that the North still remains independent but now when we bring it up, suddenly we're torched to shit. It's horrible, what they've done."

"Tell us exactly what is wrong with your people," Daenerys states.

"Everything," Yara instantly responds, looking over at her. "Our crops have been burned down and destroyed. Our trade market has all but collapsed because Bran has sent many of his men to catch our fish instead of the others. Families are dying because we can't keep up with demand. And every single time I have tried to bring up these concerns, I barely even get through the castle gates. It's as if because we're separated by islands, suddenly the king feels like he doesn't have to take care of us. It pisses me right the fuck off and I knew that I needed to get help from somewhere. Anywhere. I'm willing to do anything to save them…there are children, Daenerys. Little boys and girls, I see wandering the streets, looking for something to bring home to their families that barely have the energy to buy. It's an epidemic. I don't know what else to do."

Daenerys nods, hearing her words. "I understand. It's a horrible time when you feel you're failing the people you're supposed to take care of." Yara nods at her words. "But for you, for your loyalty to us, we can help you if you help us. Can we work something out?"

"Anything, please," Yara implores.

Jon stands and walks over to a scroll he had Eleana fill out for them a little while ago, handing it to Yara. She opens the piece of parchment and reads over the words, looking up at him. "That is a list of every conceivable food or perishable object we can trade to you. Because Valyria has been hidden for hundreds of years, we are in a surplus of many food items. We want to help as much as we can."

"And," Daenerys continues. "There are fish we can send to you from the Smoking Sea that are quite good. It will be enough to hold you over while your men figure out a way to lure your own fishes back to the Iron Islands."

"This is amazing," Yara says, looking to the two of them. "But what do you want in return? There has to be something else."

Daenerys nods quietly, looking at the leader. "As you can see, Jon and I are trying to bring Valyria back. I've had control over the slave cities for some time now but after this, we've cornered many of the cities around here. The Free Cities are next. We are trying to rebuild a new world for many people here but it's quite hard when there is water and pieces of land separating us. One solution we were thinking of was building bridges to connect the fallen pieces of land near the Valyrian peninsula, so that travel by foot would be made easier. But there was another way we wanted to expand travel – through ships. And since the Greyjoys have some of the fastest ships in the world, we wanted to see if you would be willing to help us regarding that."

Yara looks at her with a furrowed brow. "How many ships would you need?"

"It all depends on how many you will be willing to offer," Jon responds.

"I can offer as many as you fucking want as long as I can keep my people fed," Yara explains. "But the only reason I ask is that with these ships you have to have people to steer them. A whole slew of them."

"I don't want to take your men away from you," Daenerys explains. "I'd want you to train my own sailors in the way that your ships work so that they could operate them in your stead. That way we can have a shipping system by boat and we wouldn't take up much of your time. It would help us expand our rule to the people who live farther away, and make sure we are all connected."

Yara nods, holding the scroll in her hands. "I can make sure that happens. It's the one thing we aren't running low on. Is there anything else?"

"Yes," Daenerys begins. "As you can see, there are thousands of people here. Meereen citizens, as well as slavers and their soldiers. We only came here by dragon because we were alerted of this attack very late before it could even begin. Trying to transport everyone back to Valyria is going to be impossible if we do not have the outside help. Would you be willing to use your ships so we can move them there?"

Yara nods. "Of course. I always wanted to see it there. My fuck of an uncle Euron said he visited Valyria once but I never believed him."

"He was probably just telling an old tale. Even if you did find Valyria and their hidden walls, you couldn't enter before without having the blood of Old Valyria within you. But the walls are down now and anyone is free to come there – as long as they are friendly. Which means I don't want your men pillaging or raping our citizens, even if it's your 'way.'"

"I swore years ago when I aligned with you that I was going to stop doing that anyway," Yara states. "We've been far too focused on just trying to stay alive in general to really even think of doing anything remotely close to that. I don't think we're going to for a long time."

"Good," Daenerys responds with a smile, before looking over at Jon. "There is one other thing we would like you to do." She looks back at Yara. "If you don't wish to, you don't have to. But it would be a great help to us tremendously."

Yara nods. "What is it?"

Jon starts to speak this time, telling her of the threats they had received, including the multiple times their lives have been threatened by spies. He even made sure to mention how Bran even got Arya in on the madness before they convinced her that they were completely harmless. And finally, when he reaches the end, saying of their idea of spies, a grin spread across Yara's face.

"Shit, you could have opened up with that," she states, chuckling a bit. "I hate that prick. After everything he's done to our people, the last thing I want is for him to remain in power. He needs to be taken out – and as soon as possible. But if you just want me to have my men spy on him and keep you updated, I can do that. Every time we relay ships we can also bring back information as well."

Daenerys smiles at the woman's words. "That's excellent, Yara. I'm glad we could talk about this civilly."

"That's all I wanted," Yara says quietly. "Just someone to help them. Westeros is falling apart, Daenerys," she says honestly, looking up at her. "There are so many families that are starving or asking for help. Someone had said that after the last summer, it would be the longest winter we would ever endure, but after the Long Night, I thought it would be done. There would be no long winter. And yet…every day it feels like a new one. It's a horrible way to live."

Daenerys' brow furrows. "It is that bad, isn't it?"

"Yes," Yara explains. "I know you don't want to return there. And I can tell for obvious reasons…but know that whatever help you do give, everyone will be incredibly thankful for it."

"Well, you can't tell them it was us," Daenerys states quietly. "If they find out we're giving food, I can only imagine what might happen. They might come here and attack us. We can't push ourselves into a war. We have to focus on Essos and if they come here…I don't know what could happen."

Yara nods. "Understandably. I'll tell the people that we found most of the food I Sothoryos – have people look at us as explorers then if you're nervous about people finding out about your city. But I will say, you know that people are going to question you after this battle. They will come looking."

"And we will be prepared," Daenerys states simply, looking over at the woman again. "It's what has to be done. For our people and for yours." She stands with Jon and walks over to her side. "Do we have a deal?"

Yara stands and shakes her hand, before moving out to shake his as well. "We do…must say it is a bit strange to see you two ruling but it fits – I still believe you're missing out on something great though."

"Alright," Jon mutters, shaking his head and stepping back. "If we're going to do this, we might as well do it now. Let's go down to the beach where the others are and bring in the slave soldiers as well as the masters to the ships. Once they are packed up we go to the Meereen people and see who wants to come with us or not."

Daenerys nods. "And you believe your men will allow this trade?" she asks as they walk.

Yara snorts. "For what you're giving us? If they don't like it, I'll find new men. They can suck their pride later."

---

When they reached the sands of the beaches of Meereen, Jon could see how many people were huddled up, clearly scared that they were going to execute or burn them alive. However, that would not be the case – at least not today.

The moment they began to move the soldiers and tell them where to go, they actually moved with ease. Jon believed that it was because of the dragons that had been hovering over them for a while that was urging them to move away from it, but he was glad that there was no force. It seemed the slave cities have really given in.

When they even said who would be leading them away to the boats - Yara - they followed her easily. The only ones that had a little bit of stubbornness in them were the actual slave masters, who wanted to know exactly what was happening. And Daenerys explained it all to them, as Jon watched their faces change from expression to expression.

Even so, once the slave masters had their fill and were taken away, he watched while he worked, seeing that even talking with the enemy, Daenerys was trying to help them. She seemed to have taken some sort of water canister from one of their men and was helping some of the injured soldiers drink it, trying to make amends for the destruction they had caused.

It was strange and yet a pleasant sight to see. He had never seen someone acting so kind towards an enemy when not that long ago, both of them had been trying to kill as many as possible, but he knew this was what she was like. Daenerys would always hate the slave masters for a reason, but many of the people who were dragged into their hierarchy never had a choice. And those were some of the ones that deserved mercy.

He always knew she had a good heart. Everyone always doubted him, said she would turn out like her father, but he knew. He always knew.

"Fancy seeing you here," he hears from behind him, and Jon turns his head to see Eleana come forward. She had on what seemed to be a medic's outfit.

"Have you been helping some of the injured?" he asks her.

"A couple. Only the ones Kinvara needs me for." She turns her gaze over to where Daenerys stood, speaking to a small slaver that seemed to have just joined the army. "This is what she does, you know," Eleana states with a smile. "She jumps into people's lives and tries to fix them. Show them compassion."

"What if someone doesn't want to be fixed?" Jon asks Eleana.

"Well, it depends on the situation," Eleana says. "If there's a slave that wants to remain a slave, there's nothing she can really do. They have free will. But the slave masters have forced people to become slaves and traded them away for hundreds of years and didn't intend to stop. That's where she draws the line - when people aren't given a choice. But here, she's talking with the soldiers, trying to see their point of view. She's really trying to help as many people as possible - I don't know about you, but I can't remember any ruler in history who slew enemies on the battlefield, and then hours later was trying to help them heal."

"You do have a point there," Jon responds, smiling a little.

Eleana smiles and looks over at him before chuckling a bit. "I'm sorry that I interrupted you and the queen after your battle. Your direwolves ran to me after a while and I felt that it was necessary to inform you of Yara's arrival."

Jon rolls his eyes. "You didn't interrupt anything too much. We had already finished at that point." To which Eleana chuckles a bit. "I was only going to ask her something but I suppose it can wait."

Eleana raises an eyebrow. "Ask her what?"

Jon looks over at her and feels himself smile a little, before glancing at the ground. "I was going to ask her to marry me. For real, this time."

Eleana's eyes widen. "Good gods, are you joking?! That's definitely something important that I interrupted! I'm so sorry."

"No, no, it's fine. Don't worry," he reassures her. "Honestly there are much better places to ask someone to marry you besides the bed after sex." He glances towards the slavers and then back at her once more. "You were with the Meereen people and the Dothraki. Are they okay?"

"The Dothraki are completely fine," Eleana states. "You know them, they're stubborn and know how to fight. Once they brought the slavers down here they returned to their camp to aid each other. They didn't want any outside help. The Meereen people were a little shaken, but once I talked to some of them and they talked to the others it was cooled down a little. They're just waiting for her now."

Jon nods, glancing at the slavers once more. "You know, I never understood it," he states quietly. "How so many Dothraki are still here. I thought a lot of them died in Westeros."

"Many of them did - of that tribe." Jon raises an eyebrow and Eleana nods. "There are multiple tribes of Dothraki. The ones that were able to come back here after Daenerys died did, but many of the ones you see fighting for you now is a completely different tribe of Dothraki. They were already here before the others returned. But the Dothraki that had served Daenerys before was able to convince them that they should serve her again. That's why there's so many once more."

"It makes sense," Jon responds. "I never understood how you could control that many people but I guess that's just the culture. I grew up with horror stories of the Dothraki but they've proved helpful, nonetheless. It's only been the Khals that have been an issue."

"Yeah, you're going to have to deal with that," Eleana says. "Some of them really don't want to follow you." At his look of worry, she only shrugs. "What? I'm only speaking the truth."

"I know...Daenerys is worried about me fighting one to show them I'm here to stay."

"As she should be."

"Alright, Eleana, you're really not helping."

"I told you, I speak the truth. The Khals are fierce warriors who fight to kill, not to win. It's an instinct for them. If you want to win that, you have to fight to kill. And it's a dangerous fight." She looks back up at him. "However, I really believe you'll be fine. At least after a few good hits. I've seen you fight."

"Well, thanks for some encouragement," Jon mutters, causing Eleana to snicker a bit.

"You're welcome, my king."

At that moment, Daenerys begins to come over with Yara and Taevar. Jon watches as Yara's eyes travel up and down Eleana, and at that moment he feels himself internally groan. Great, now he was going to have to deal with this in Valyria.

"I've directed Taevar and Yara to continue loading men onto the ships. We are going to go to the Dothraki and the Meereen people, and see who wants to come with us to Valyria, and see who wishes to remain here. Eleana, I'd like to ask you to come with us to the battle camp so you can translate for the Meereen people."

"Of course, my queen," Eleana states, bowing her head.

Jon sees Yara sigh. "It's a shame. I wanted to get to know the queen's handmaiden."

"You can get to know her later, for fuck's sake," Taevar mutters, shaking his head and stepping forward. "We will move at a quick pace, my queen."

"Actually," Jon states, looking down at Dany. "We have someone we need to visit and bring out."

At her look of confusion, he nods his head back towards the pyramid. In all their help, she had forgotten about the one man that had practically pushed them together in the first place. Daario.

"Right," she whispers, suddenly shaking her head. "That's correct. We do need to go there." She turns to Eleana. "Can you ride ahead of us and we will meet you there? There is some business we need to take care of in the pyramid. Once it's done, we will meet you at the Dothraki camp first."

Eleana nods. "Of course."

"Alright, let's go," she commands, causing everyone to move in their own directions. Jon glances over at the slavers and watches as Arya helps Gendry move some more onto the ships, causing him to smile a little. "She's doing a really great job," Daenerys commends, looking up at him. "She's speaking as gently as she can to help them get on the ships. It's actually kind of sweet - in a strange way."

"That's Arya for you," Jon states before looking back at her. "You really try to make people feel as comfortable as possible don't you?"

Daenerys shrugs with a soft smile. "I try. Really. I know that we attacked them but if we want them to follow us, we have to treat them with kindness. Show them that before, it was an act of war, but if you follow us, we are going to give you a better life - starting with how they are treated after battles. Did you know that any slave master who is upset with their soldiers after a battle has the right to kill them?! That's just cruel. I want to change their lives - for the better. Not make them worse."

Jon reaches down and squeezes her hand in his. "I know. It's what I love about you." He presses a soft kiss to her forehead, seeing her lips turn up into a smile before his gaze turns over to the pyramid. "Alright, let's deal with this prick."

---

The moment they stepped into the pyramid again, Daenerys was commanding each and every guard that was there to go to the ships. When he asked why she was telling all of her guards to come with her to Valyria, she explained that the people who would come to rule over Meereen would bring their own guards, so why keep most of hers there? The only reason she would keep some positioned is for the safety of the pyramid, but most would follow.

Guard after guard began to leave until they settled on the man that had been serving them faithfully, ever since Jon had arrived. Racho.

"Racho," Daenerys says with a smile, hugging her head guard with a tight embrace. "I haven't seen you in a long time. We were so busy earlier I barely had time to talk with my old guards. Has everything been good here?"

"Of course, my queen. The Stark girl led us well and I helped her through the motions. We kept a good bubble over this place and it's been working out quite well."

"Good. While I do want you to come with us to Valyria as well, I do have one request of you. Follow us into the dungeons and when we say the word, take the man in the cell." Racho bows his head, before nodding.

Daenerys and Jon walk forward towards the dungeons, and he opens the door slowly, letting her walk in first. Once she was down a couple of steps, he follows, and lastly Racho closes the door behind him.

There was a mumbling of a voice from a cell before it speaks out, clear and crisp. "What the fuck was going on up there? It sounded like the end of the world." Daenerys grabs a torch from the wall and brings it towards the cell bars, illuminating the man before him. And what Jon saw was the complete opposite of what he expected. Ever.

It was Daario, but his whole entire body was thinner. He walked with some sort of limp. And his hair had grown to unmeasurable distortions. He looked almost unrecognizable.

His eyes widen once he sees Daenerys standing in front of him. "Daenerys," he whispers, his hands wrapping around the cell bars. "I haven't seen you in...I don't even know how long."

"Hello, Daario," she says cordially, her eyes locked on him. "Trust me, this wasn't a visit I wanted. If it was up to me I would have you burned at the stake for what you've done in the past. Killing the man that I love." Jon watches the light fade from the man's eyes at her words. "But my husband had a better idea."

"Wait - husband?!" he hisses, taking a sloppy step back.

Jon was surprised she had said it as well, considering they were still trying to figure out how to explain it to their people how they weren't married. But seeing the look on Daario's face was far too priceless for him to really care that much. It was heartbroken, anger, rage, and sadness all mixed into one. And fuck, did it feel good.

"Yes, my husband," Daenerys states, looking up at Jon with a smirk before leaning in and pressing a kiss to his lips. Once she pulls back, Jon looks over at Daario, who had now slumped against the wall, staring at him in hatred. "I suppose you were right on one thing, Daario - I never did stop loving him. And it took locking you away to realize that."

Daario snorts before shaking his head, glaring at them. "Then what the fuck are you going to do then? Tear me apart into tiny pieces? Take away my cock as those slave masters do to their soldiers? Tell me, what is the gracious Queen Daenerys going to do?!" he snaps.

"I am not going to do anything," Daenerys says calmly.

"Then this bas-"

"And neither is Jon," she continues.

Daario's brow furrows. "Then what is it? What are you going to do with me here? Leave me to rot?"

"No," Jon states, finally speaking for the first time since they had been down here. "We're not going to leave you alone, but we're not going to kill you. Both of those options would be far too merciful for you at this point. What you did is unforgivable. You murdered a king." He could see Daario's eyes narrow at his words. "But your death would be meaningless. It doesn't quite feel the same as it once did. So now, you're going to serve."

"What?!" Daario yells, stepping back. "Serve you?!"

"Not us," Jon states, leaning forward. "No, we would never be that stupid as to have you in our homes. You will be serving another dragonlord family. You see, the dragons of the world have risen, powerful and power-ridden dragonlords who want nothing more than to take over and explore the world. And we are the ones leading the charge. And while we could just kill you and end the suffering of your disability, we've decided something better."

He steps back and stares at the man, letting the words roll off of him.

"Daario Naharis," Jon starts. "You're being sentenced to servitude for life for a dragonlord family. Which one yet, we do not know, but it will not be here in Meereen. You will hold no titles. You will fuck no women. You will never bear a sword again in your hands - especially with that leg. And if we ever find out that you have breached these commands, we will make sure that you are beaten within half an inch of your life, before letting you heal so you can live that nightmare all over again. And I have never been one for empty threats. And believe me when I say this - I will be the one doing the beating," he snarls.

He had never been one to threaten people, but the longer he stared at Daario's face, the more he wanted to punch it until nothing remained. All he wished for was to never see this man's face again. And if everything turned out the way they wanted, he wouldn't.

"Daenerys, please," Daario pleads, suddenly turning his gaze to the queen. "You - he can't do this. Neither of you can. Please, I can protect you, keep you safe - or just kill me, please. I can't do that. That's never been me, you know that! I'm a fighter not some fucking serf!"

"Why do you think we're giving you this punishment then?" Daenerys asks him, causing his shoulders to fall. "I told you that you don't deserve forgiveness. Not after what you've done. And this will be the best way for us to punish you while never having to see your disgraceful face again." She takes a step back from the cell and turns to Racho. "Take him away to one of the ships and lock him up. We will see which family he will go to later. Knock him out if you must."

Racho nods and steps forward, opening up the cell door. Instantly Daario tries to spring forward and grab Jon but he simply steps away, watching the crippled man fall to the floor. "You stole everything from me!" he yells angrily, screaming practically. "You piece of horse shit! It should be me with her, not some pathetic excuse for a man like y-"

Jon pulls back his arm and punches the man so hard in the face it knocks Daario out, his head slumping. He lets his fist fall and Racho nods approvingly before dragging the man out of the dungeons until he was out of sight. Jon lets out a low sigh and looks over at Daenerys, who had raised an eyebrow at his punch. He sighs. "I know, I know. I shouldn't have done that. I'm sorry...I just can't fucking stand him talking about that. If it was my way, I'd gladly kill him but...we can't just kill everyone. Death is sometimes too merciful."

She doesn't say anything to that but her body does step forward. Her arms wrap around his neck and she presses her lips against his own, leaning upon her tiptoes to reach him. It was a kiss filled with security, an embrace of passion. And when she pulls away, the smile on her lips reaches her eyes.

"Don't apologize for defending yourself or me," she says to him gently. "Trust me, I would have punched him too but I'm trying to keep myself together here. We have to make sure we move away as many people as possible without incident. He was the first issue."

"Now, the Dothraki," Jon mutters, causing Daenerys to squeeze his hand.

"Let's go talk with them together. I'm sure we can work something out."

The two of them walk towards the steps of the dungeons, and while they do, Jon's mind raises a good point.

"You know, we weren't together the last time Racho saw us. He's going to ask questions."

"We'll explain it as we've done to everyone else. It won't be that hard." She moves towards the door, sighing. "What will be hard is what comes next. Just stay near me. Eleana will tell you as much as she can through the Dothraki, okay?"

Jon nods. "Okay."

---

They go outside to grab some horses to ride back to the Dothraki camp. The moment they arrive, everyone there begins to cheer for Daenerys, praising her in the language. She hops off of her horse and Jon does his own, being sure to stay by her side, while she stands above them all, watching them chant her name.

It was intimidating, to an extent. Jon knew at this point that there was no way they would hurt him - at least intentionally. Daenerys had told them multiple times at this point that he wasn't an enemy but a friend.

Even so with that information in mind, he still felt...unsure. He didn't know whether that meant they would accept him as a co-leader - he supposed in their eyes, a Khal - or as an enemy that shouldn't even remotely be in the same room as her. But he supposed now he would see.

Eleana was waiting there for her as Daenerys spoke lowly to some of the bloodrider leaders there. "So you can speak Dothraki too?" Jon asks her quietly, his eyes still trained on Daenerys.

"I've tried many times to learn. I can understand it - sort of. I'm definitely more acquainted with the language the Meereen people speak rather than this." She looks over at him and smiles. "Don't worry. I'll try and translate for you."

Jon sighs and nods, looking back ahead. A moment later, he raises an eyebrow at the girl. "I saw Yara staring you down." He could see the girl's cheeks turn red. "Do not tell me you are interested in Yara fucking Greyjoy."

"I didn't say that," she chuckles, shaking her head. "It's just nice to feel appreciated again. I've been serving Daenerys for so long I forgot what that kind of feeling was like...I never liked it too much as a child but on my own terms it feels good."

Jon sighs once more but nods. "Just...be careful with that. If something were to happen. We need her alliance and I don't want...personal interactions to interfere with it."

Eleana rolls her eyes. "Yes, Jon."

At that moment, he starts to see Daenerys stand up and speak out to the Dothraki. She starts to shout in the language, and Jon looks to Eleana to translate. Her brow was furrowed in concentration, and her eyes were focused on Dany.

"Blood of my blood," she translates. "You have served me well...you've taken my enemies daw-down," she stutters, still translating. "You've saved my life and my children's lives before. You have been by my side in my darkest moments and in my brightest ones. But now...I ask you...twice things? I think it's actually two...are you with me?"

The Dothraki begin to chant her name, seemingly saying yes, the one word he really knew well, and Jon lets out a low breath. So far it seemed her translations were true.

"Valyria has risen," Eleana continues to translate, watching Daenerys' face change as she spoke to the crowd of Dothraki ahead of them. "A new world...reborn. We need the men that have stood by the dragons all this time. We need the Dothraki. So are you willing to cross the sea with me and my men to bring forward a new era where the dragons will rise...by my side?"

The Dothraki begin to cheer again.

"Will you tear down the stone walls of any area we command, and rip the metal men by their limbs if I command? Ooh, that's graphic," Eleana mutters as the Dothraki cheer once more.

Jon watches as Daenerys breathes heavily, seeing a different side of her. It seemed she tended to change quite often depending on who she was talking to - which was understandable. With the Dothraki, her words seemed much more violent, much more powerful. And it was needed for a tribe such as them. He knew it was how she connected with their bloodriders.

"You have served us well," Eleana continues, her eyes focused on Daenerys' words. "But there is one other thing I must ask of you...joining me in Valyria, it will not just be me, leading." There was a collective gasp within the crowd, some shouts of protest, some confused, but Daenerys continues, and Eleana speaks again as well. "I have fought as a Khaleesi for you for a long time, but that has never meant that I never wanted se-someone...by my side. And I've found that."

Jon watches as Daenerys looks in his direction, and holds out her hand. He looks over at Eleana and she nods, coming over to his side to continue to help translate. She pulls him up to where she stood once he takes her hand, not letting go.

"This is Jaehaerys Targaryen," Eleana continues, repeating what Daenerys speaks. "He has fought beside us and protected me and my children until the very end. He is the man I have chosen to be with, and someone that I want you to follow as well. He is the Khal to my Khaleesi...and anyone who has to say anything...speak now."

Instantly there were shouts among them, some yelling at the very idea of an outsider leading them, others confused as to why. Eleana was clearly looking around confused, trying to seek out some of the complaints, when she whispers at him, "Many are saying because you don't speak the language, how can you lead...others are saying you aren't strong enough...some are just cursing."

Jon looks over at Daenerys, seeing her look of worry that shone through her solid exterior otherwise. He squeezes her hand, causing her to glance at him before he lets go and steps down into the crowd of Dothraki around him. She looks at him in shock as he moves forward, an instant circle forming around him, some glaring, others hissing, a few cursing. He looks to Eleana, who steps forward.

"Translate for me," he whispers to her.

She nods, ready to speak.

"I know that you don't know me well," Jon begins, hearing Eleana speak Dothraki as quickly as she could behind him. "I know that I am a stranger to you. But trust me when I say that there is no one I care more about than my family and my people. If you choose to trust me with your Khaleesi, as well as your bloodriders, I promise you that you will not regret it. If you question me regarding my translations, I am beginning to learn the language with your Khaleesi. If this is a test of my strength, then give me your best fighter, and I will strike him down."

"Jon!" Daenerys whispers fiercely, stepping down as the Dothraki around him begins to speak loudly, looking around. "You can't do this - I forbid it! I'm their leader, they have to agree to something!"

"Daenerys, I am going to be okay. You have to believe me," he says to her. "We need their trust - all of their trust. If this is what I have to do, then I will do so. It's how they work - a show of power."

Daenerys goes to speak again, but at that moment, a man, twice the size of Jon, steps forward. His eyes were narrowed harshly and his gaze was focused on the man in front of him. His hair was long - Daenerys had mentioned that the Dothraki only cut their hair if they've lost a battle, and clearly this man had not.

"Jon, he's like another Drogo, you can't fight him," she says to him, pleading. "Please."

"They have to trust us, Dany." He looks over at her and takes her hand in his as the people around him begin to chant. "Trust me...I am going to win this. I can feel it. I told you - I'm not leaving anytime soon."

Daenerys stares shocked still as to what to say, but before she could, Eleana pulls her back as suddenly, the man comes forward, practically growling at Jon. He looks up, his hand pressed against Blackfyre on his side.

"And your name is?" Jon asks him.

"I am Khal Rhaqqo," the man snarls at him. "You defeat me, you can take this whole entire damn Khalasar with our Khaleesi. But if I kill you, I get to lead in your place and take the Khaleesi as my own!"

'She's not bloody property,' he mutters inwardly. Jon knew there was no chance he would ever allow that to happen - he wasn't planning on dying, at least not yet. But for his sake for taking on this man and proving to these cheering Dothraki that he meant to stay here, he nods. "Fine. Just know you won't live to see another day."

He stares at the Khal and grips Blackfyre tightly, charging at him before he could barely give the man any time to see. He hopes his speed is at least a little bit to his advantage, but the man's large size causes him to side-step, swinging for Jon's chest. He ducks back and spins around just in time as a blade from the Khal swings in front of his face.

Jon quickly regains his stance and stays, trying to see how quick the Khal would be, and doesn't wait long as he charges forward. He raises his sword and hits against the Khal's blade, sending him back a few paces as soon as it makes contact.

The man snarls at him and Jon stands, happy that waiting had done the trick, but as the Khal again charges at him, this time with enormous speed, he nearly gets himself stabbed in the stomach at not avoiding him quick enough, falling against his own feet. The Khal's blade suddenly slashes against his skin, the steel cutting through his already aching flesh so easily. Blood starts to ooze out of him. Jon grunts and takes a step back, holding his bleeding wound.

The men begin to roar in cheers around them, from the bloodriders to the regular ones. He feels himself lean against the edge of his sword, fighting the pain.

"You really think you can beat me?!" the Khal roars at him. "I have been undefeated for years! To think that some puny little lord from some foreign land could think he would stand a CHANCE! Go back to your lands and fight for your whores there! We'll keep our Khaleesi here!"

Jon could feel his blood start to boil under his skin, a familiar rage beginning to take hold that he had been trying to suppress when faced with challenges like this. But this time, he doesn't fight it. He embraces it deeply, using it with all his might to stand and hold Blackfyre as best as he could. The Khal stares at him as if shocked that he was still standing with the wound to his chest.

And, before anyone saw it coming, he raises the sword and slashes at the Khal's leg, twisting it before pulling it back out. The Khal yells in anger and shoves Jon into the ground as he charges, and he lands with a groan, before standing, the blade still held tightly in his hands. Most of the onlookers were staring at the fight, no longer cheering as much.

Their swords clash once more, this time almost as equals, but because the man was much bigger and taller his swing became more deadly, sending Jon to run back multiple times to try and avoid the blow. There were multiple punches thrown at him, multiple swings, again, and again, and again, Jon avoided them each and every turn, the man's blade inches from his face each time.

He could see that with each time he avoided his hits before the Khal could finish the job, he was getting more frustrated, but Jon wasn't stopping. He wasn't about to let go of his mind for this man. Not one bit.

The Khal charges at him, but Jon expects the move and swings Blackfyre out. As soon as he turns from the charge, he looks to see that he had hit the Khal in the calf, his muscles bleeding severely from the blade.

He walks over to the man, although a bit wobbly due to the wound, using Blackfyre to keep him steady. As soon as he appears in front of the Khal, he takes a swing at Jon, but he turns quicker and uses every ounce of his strength to sink down Blackfyre into the other man's leg, severing all of his muscles.

Without the use of his legs, Rhaqqo was breathing heavily, blood pooling around the sand beneath them. He can't stand, so he tries to throw his weapon at Jon. He only steps back a moment too soon to see multiple others attempt to dodge the throw. Jon turns his eyes back to the man and brings Blackfyre down onto his arm, slicing it in half, causing the Khal to scream in pain. It was his last arm that he used to fight with.

"End this!" the man screams in agony, staring at him.

Jon lets out a low breath and aims Blackfyre at the man's head, before swinging it swiftly, and then cuts it clean off. His body falls onto the ground with a hard thump, and his head bounces away. Jon breathes deeply as he looks around, trying to see the reactions of the others. Many of them were staring in shock, some at home and some at the body, His chest flairs in pain.

"Anyone else?!" he shouts, his eyes looking around frantically, but no one steps forward.

Instead, one by one people begin to step forward, some chanting in Dothraki, others in English. But there were two words he could recognize from beyond the shouts of a language he didn't know: Khal Jaehaerys.

He feels himself let out a low sigh and the pain starts to edge into his chest more now that the rage had died down, and he looks over at Eleana, who was nodding approvingly. Daenerys, on the other hand, had her eyes narrowed in anger. And he instantly knew he was going to get it later from her. But for a moment, he didn't mind. He basked in the cheers, and the chants, the screams of praise.

Tyrion had once told him that Robert Baratheon said anyone was a fool to face the Dothraki in an open field. But right now, he could be happy that he took down one of their biggest men, their hardest men, and here he stood. Victorious.

Until Daenerys would tear him apart later.

---

"What the fuck is wrong with you?!"

When Daenerys had finally dragged Jon away from the cheering Dothraki and back to the battle camp, the first thing she had done was yell. He had been expecting it, but then she followed it up with a push to the chest – which really fucking hurt.

"Seven hells, Dany," he hisses, clutching at his torn skin. "I have an injured chest, you know?"

"Oh, I'm sorry if I'm hurting something that shouldn't have happened in the first place!" she yells angrily. Jon sighs as he sits against a chair, looking up at his love.

"Daenerys, you and I both know it had to be done."

"I am their Khaleesi, they would have listened to me if I convinced them!"

"No, they wouldn't have," Jon says with a sigh. "You saw how they reacted when you told them the news. You and I both know that even if you commanded it, very few would follow. They started to serve you because they saw you do something no woman had ever done, but a man? It's always power with them. You know the only way I could have won them over was through violence. I know you're smarter than that."

Daenerys doesn't say anything, her chest still heaving up and down heavily, before her shoulders drop. "You could have at least let me try. You challenged an unbeatable Khal just like that without even listening to what I had to say. I mean, Jon, he looked almost identical to Khal Drogo if not with shorter hair. He would have killed you."

"But I killed him – just like I knew I would." He stands and cringes a bit at the pain in his chest, to which Daenerys comes over and urges him to sit. Even in her angry state, she still cared about him.

She stares at the wound, now barely bleeding but still worse-for-wear, before sighing. "Hold on," she grumbles before stepping back. She chants something in Dothraki, and within seconds she appears back in the tent with bandages. "Remove your shirt."

He does so, taking it off with a little bit of pain before she starts to wrap his skin. As she does, he sees her sigh.

"I understand why you did what you did," she says gently, looking up at him. "I really do…but you have no idea the amount of fear I had watching that battle. It hurt to see you do that and risk your life when you knew I didn't want that to happen. And yet you did it anyway. And that's what hurt the most."

"Because I knew you would say no."

"And don't you think there's a reason for that?" she asks him, tightening his bandages before looking at him. "I have been with the Dothraki for far longer than you have. I didn't want you to face the Khal for a reason. Even if you did defeat him, that still scared me. It makes me wonder what else you would do without my permission."

Jon sighs and closes his eyes gently, before looking at her. "Dany, the only reason I did this without your blessing was that I knew it was what we had to do. You know that there is no other situation, whether in the past or present, that I have gone against your word. They need to know that I am powerful and that if they disobey you or me, someone will get hurt. Now, there is nothing else holding us back. This was what I knew we had to do since the beginning…I'm sorry for worrying you. That was never my intention. I just wanted to make sure your people became our people…I don't want to see you cry."

Her eyes had begun to shine with tears, but she wipes them away, letting out a shaky breath. "I just don't want to see you get hurt, Jon. That's all it comes down to." She rests her forehead against his and kisses his lips softly, before nuzzling her nose now against his own. "You're my partner. My love. I can't lose that."

"And you won't," he promises her, his hands resting against her hips. He smiles at her and feels maybe now, maybe right after a fight like this, would be the best time to ask her. But when he goes to open his mouth, the tent to the flap opens.

For fuck's sake, Eleana.

"My queen," the young woman states. "Taevar arrived back and began moving the Dothraki to the boats to take back to Valyria where they'll stay in the open fields near the castle. The Meereen people are still awaiting your speech."

Daenerys sighs but stands. "We're on our way out." Daenerys goes to stand and leaves first, pushing her hair back behind her again and wiping away the tears from her eyes. Once she was gone, Jon stands up, throwing an exasperated look at Eleana.

Instantly, her eyes widen. "I didn't, did I?" And quietly, he nods. "Fuck, I'm so sorry – I know I shouldn't talk like that but-"

Jon shakes his head, raising his hand dismissively. "I don't need an apology. Just please try to stay away from the queen and me next time," he states, causing Eleana to snicker a bit.

"I'll try."

---

Everyone lined up in the front as Daenerys stood atop a large rock, looking down at the people chanting her name, or saying "Mhysa!" to her, over and over. He always knew that the Meereen people have loved her, but it was still pleasant to see it continued in such a way.

He watches as she smiles and looks to Eleana, who stood by her side. While the Meereen people did understand Valyrian their language was a bit different from theirs, so he knew Eleana was there to clean up the pieces and help her understand what they were saying if need be.

She reaches out and holds the hands of many of them, trying to reach as many as possible before standing.

'People of Meereen!' she exclaims in Valyrian, her tongue holding true. 'I have been absent for some time now. While I have left your city in good hands, I went away to begin a new one – a new world, where you can begin somewhere better. A grand life. You've heard of Valyria – and it has been brought back.'

She raises her hands for emphasis, a smile on her face.

'Buildings as high as the stars, and streets made of fresh stone. Homes for your families, and your children. A safe place away from the threats of the outside world. We want to give that to you, but you do not have to come if you wish to stay here in your home. You have the choice to choose your own freedom – as you did in the beginning. I will not force that upon you. But know that a new age is beginning, and I want you to be a part of that.'

Jon could see the happiness on most faces at the thought of moving elsewhere to somewhere better. A few civilians even began to yell in joy, chanting something he could almost understand as 'hope!' but he knew it was a mix of Ghiscari and Valyrian. He looks to Daenerys, who then grabs his hand.

'There is one other situation I wish to speak with you about.' She grabs his hand and pulls him up to her side, which causes him to cringe a bit but he pushes the pain down. He could only hope that this introduction didn't go as bad as the last time. 'This is Jaehaerys Targaryen.'

Instantly, there were shouts of praise in the audience of citizens, and Jon felt a soft smile come to his face. Daenerys squeezes his hand discreetly, continuing to speak in Valyrian.

'Some of you may have seen him in the streets of Meereen, among your shops and your people. Others may have seen him serving at my side in the pyramid. But I can no longer hide who he is to me.' She turns to him, a pure picture of love in her eyes. 'He is my partner. My king. It is because of him that you are here now. He – along with his sister and many others – helped you out of the city when you all could have been injured in this surprise attack. He made sure you were safe and protected, while the rest of the city was spared a single innocent soul. He has stayed by my side this whole time. He is the reason that you are alive, still with your families, holding your children in your arms. I want you to accept him as you accepted me.'

She moves away from Jon, taking a step forward.

'I know welcoming strangers has never been easy in Meereen, but Jaehaerys is the best man I know. The most honorable. The most loyal. Everything you could ever wish for in someone – he has it. He has risked his life to protect you – and he will continue to do so. He has saved your life with us – and will continue to do so. So, my people – will you accept him as your ruler? My equal?'

There was silence among the crowd, an exchange of faces and emotions. Jon knew that the people that were looking at him now knew him, but only as someone who would speak with them, come to their homes, get to know them. Never as a leader. And sure as shit not as a ruler. Up until this point, he was sure they had probably believed him to be just a close friend of Dany's.

And yet, here he was, hoping for their approval. And out of everyone he wished would accept him, it was these innocent lives that meant the most.

Suddenly, a voice rings out. "Kepa!" And then another, as clear as day, says the same name. "Kepa!" Three more begin to chant, followed by another three, and then another three. "Kepa! Kepa! Kepa!"

Jon's brow furrows as he looks to Eleana, who had a slight smile on her cheeks. "Do you know what they are saying?" he asks her. "I can't recognize it."

"It's Old Ghiscari," Eleana explains, looking up at him.

Chants of "Mhysa!" began to echo through the crowd of "Kepa!" And it hits Jon like a brick when he realizes what it means. He looks to Daenerys, who seemed to be close to tears. She had been nervous about them accepting him as well. She reaches over and grabs his hand.

"They're saying 'father,' Jon," she whispers to him.

"Kepa! Kepa! Kepa!" the chants continue. Jon feels a grin start to spread across his face, barely even knowing how to react.

He turns to Dany, who knew the most out of all of this. "How…what did you do when they…I don't know-"

"Go to them," she chuckles, pushing him forward gently.

Jon looks back at the crowd and then back at her, but at her encouraging nod, he steps forward into the sea of people, feeling each of them touch him, trying to reach out to him, many of them saying the same word over and over again. If possible he could almost feel the smile growing on his lips.

Daenerys had told him that when she was accepted they had lifted her up, but at that moment, Jonarys flew over his head towards the pyramid, letting out a screech, and that was all the praise that he needed. To feel that he was doing good. They reached to him, smiling, pleading, exclaiming, and shouting the same name. "Kepa! Kepa! Kepa!" Like a beautiful world of voices.

It was synchronized, harmonized, everything he could have dreamed it would be. A part of him felt that he didn't deserve this praise, not after what he had done in the past. Not after everything that had gone through. Not after what he did to her.

But when he turns his gaze as many of the stronger men around him suddenly lift him up – much like Dany – his eyes land on her, and her loving smile. And everything seems right. This all seems right.

And there was nowhere else he would rather be.

---

Once they had calmed down, Daenerys had taken account of many of the people who had wanted to come – which was actually a good ¾'s of the crowd – before bringing them back towards the ships with Jon. The rest would stay in Meereen with the guards they had left for the time being, before they sent whichever governors to rule over them.

As they climbed onto the ship that last night, after a long eventful day while the sun was setting in the distance, Jon watched as several groups all climbed onto the Greyjoy's ships. Dothraki who bowed to him and Daenerys as they walked by. Meereen people who were filled with joy and hope, some whispering to them their names before climbing onto the boat. Slave soldiers who seemed a bit calmer than before, almost pensive.

He knew the slave masters, as well as Daario, were locked below the deck so that they wouldn't cause any trouble on the trip back. The dragons would follow suit, and the ships would sail into the harbors, the trades happening in Valyrian history for the first time in hundreds of years.

It would take hours before everyone was properly on a ship. And Jon watched as Arya and Gendry were the last ones on, followed by Taevar, Rhaemon, Eleana, and Kinvara, all of which whom had helped to aid the people onto the boat – especially the ones who had been a bit more afraid of water than usual.

"Every able body is on the boat, your grace," Taevar states.

Jon nods and gestures to the boat. "You can all go to rest. You've helped us a great deal today."

Taevar bows his head and follows after Rhaemon, but the soldier turns his head back towards Daenerys. "My queen. If you don't mind me asking – you and the Lady Arya can really fight."

Daenerys raises an eyebrow. "Thank you, but what is the question?"

"I believe that Valyria's traditions of only men fighting have gone on too long. I have seen so many women who have wanted to learn – would you and the Lady Arya be willing to teach?"

Jon almost sputters on his water he had been given, but at Daenerys' piercing gaze, he doesn't say a single word. Arya steps forward with a smile. "I'd be happy to shove some kid's faces into the dirt."

"Arya," Daenerys chastises before turning her eyes back to Rhaemon. "We would be glad to partake in the option. I'm sure it is something we can discuss in much fuller detail when we arrive back at Valyria. For now, go rest – you've done a great job, commander." Rhaemon nods and bows his head before disappearing into the darkness. Daenerys turns her gaze to Arya. "Really?"

"I've told you, I'm not a lady," Arya chuckles before stepping back with Gendry. "Think we all deserve some sleep. We'll see you all tomorrow." She pulls at his hand and takes him in.

"Please don't keep us up with your lovemaking!" Jon exclaims, to which Arya throws him a middle finger over her shoulder while Gendry blushes dark red, and they too disappear into the ship. Jon shakes his head and looks over at Eleana and Kinvara, the last two remaining. "Kinvara, how have you been? You've been healing people all day."

"Tired, your grace – if we're being completely honest," Kinvara states bluntly. "A red priestess can only do so much. But I would gladly do it again for you."

"Go and get some sleep. We'll talk more tomorrow. You as well, Eleana – you've been a great help."

"Yeah, a real great help," Jon mutters, leaning against the side of the boat.

Before Daenerys could question his tone, Kinvara nods and speaks. "I think that's a good idea. How about we go and rest and let these two lovebirds nest together?" Eleana smiles as she walks away with Kinvara, but Jon wasn't done yet.

"Have fun looking for Yara!" he calls out, to which Eleana throws him a glare and then sulks off, as the two women as well vanish into the ship.

Daenerys raises an eyebrow. "You seem to be in a mood."

"I'm exhausted," he says honestly, looking over at her. "So much shit happened today – too much for one person to handle."

"And that's why there's two of us," she says with a smile, leaning over and grabbing his hand. "But what was it with the attitude towards Eleana? She was helpful today. Did she get in the way of something?"

Jon doesn't say a word, because there was no way he was doing it here on a boat. He wanted it to be special. And for that to happen, he needed to wait. Just a little while longer. So for her sake, he only smiles and squeezes her sides.

"I told you, I'm only tired. I need to rest. Anyone can snap me right now." He takes her hand in his and brings it to his mouth, placing a kiss on it. "Let's sail home to our children."

Daenerys smiles brightly at the words and nods. "Indeed. Let's."

---

It takes them a little over two weeks to sail back to Valyria. Usually, the trip by boat was one week, but because of the number of boats they had and the need to stay together, they all moved at a slower pace to arrive there as one. And as soon as they do, Jon could see the reactions of everyone.

The Dothraki staring in shock, the Meereen in amazement, the soldiers of the slavers in wonder – everyone with just pure surprise on their face. It seemed they didn't believe them, but sure as the seven hells below them, here they were, as alive as Valyria was.

Jon and Daenerys watched as everyone came off the boat, the guards taking them to the designated areas they had roped off. They came home to cheering crowd in the streets of their victory, and many welcoming the new faces to their home. But the two rulers stayed vigilant until every person was off of the boat, including their family members, and two very important creatures – Ghost and Ari.

The king and queen walk back towards the castle together once everyone was gone, and let the direwolves in first. They watch as they begin to sniff out the children, trying to find them, until they suddenly take off. Jon and Dany follow hot on their trail before stopping outside of the training area, watching as they ran down.

Dan had looked up just in time from training with little Nesy to see Ary attack her head-on with licks to the face, causing the girl to gasp in shock and happiness, laughing.

"Puppy!" Nesy yells in admiration, as Zaevar steps forward from where he sat, standing in front of her.

"That's no puppy – that's a direwolf." Ari steps away from Dan a moment later, her tongue sticking out as Dan scratches her ear.

"This is my direwolf, Nesy." Mae comes over with her little sister, petting the big fluffy wolf on the side of its ear. "And this is my father's, Ghost."

Ghost had taken to Daemon's side, sitting at his legs while the young boy scratched his side. Daemon looks up, clearly confused. "But wait…if their direwolves are here, then that means-"

They suddenly all stop talking, before their heads turn towards the top of the training area. And there, at the beginning of the steps, right before the entrance, stood Jon and Daenerys.

"Papa! Mama!" came Nesy's scream of joy first as she runs up the steps, practically tripping on them before falling into Jon's arms. He takes the girl with a hearty laugh, holding her tightly as the rest of the children follow suit, each hugging both of the parents as hard as they could. Jon could see all of them had tears in their eyes – namely Nesy.

Jon lowers the little girl and looks at Dan and Daemon, both of which were clinging to them. "We heard you won but didn't know when you'd be back," Dan whispers, sniffling.

"We're back now – as I told you we would be," Daenerys says softly to her, kissing her forehead gently.

"We missed you," Mae says, holding onto Daenerys tightly.

"You have no idea how much we missed you too," Jon says, hugging each of them tightly. Zaevar pulls back, a look of disbelief on his face.

"E..even me?" he asks, almost unsure.

Jon reaches forward and grabs the boy's shoulder. "Of course you, Zaevar. You're our son – there's no changing that." Zaevar smiles at his words and hugs him again, this time with Daemon at his side as well. A moment later, they pull back a little bit more, giving the couple a bit more room to breathe. Nesara was clinging to Daenerys now, her little hands wrapped around her neck.

"Does this mean we can eat together again?" she asks her small voice echoing in the wall.

Daenerys laughs at her question. "Yes, and we can have a grand feast for our celebration. What would you like, Nesy?"

Nesara smiles at her name being mention. "Cake and cookies!" she instantly states, which makes every person in the room burst out laughing. Jon could almost feel himself pull his stitches in his side. Fuck, he had missed her. He had missed this. "What?! I really want it!"

"I know you do, sweetheart. Don't ever change," Jon chuckles, pulling the girl up from Daenerys before turning his head to a guard. "Well, you heard the girl. Tell the cooks to make cake and cookies for tonight's feast!"

Nesara cheers as the guards rush off, causing the children to laugh again, and just the sound of their laughter was like a bell in his ears, a chime he never wanted to stop. It was pleasing to his ears, a love he had missed. Gods, only now does he really realize how much he relied on his family to keep him sane. Without them, his happiness would be taken away.

But for now, he would cherish it as much as he could.

---

Of course, the feast hadn't been just cake and cookies – but meats of all kinds, vegetables he had missed being on the boat, and the said desserts that Nesara had stuffed her face with until she had fallen asleep at the dinner table, drool leaking from her mouth.

During the feast, however, they had talked about everything that had happened to the more interested children – the ones who weren't devouring every sweet in sight. From the battle details, to how they got the Dothraki and Meereen people to follow them, to the boat ride back, to everyone they had met or discovered.

Dan had said she wanted to meet Yara after the stories Daenerys had told, and Jon could almost feel the sighs coming from a mile away. But he was going to grant his daughter that wish. Yara was loyal and helping them – as much as her words ached him.

Daemon and Zaevar both said they wanted to come on the next trip to see the Dothraki to learn their moves, to which he had said he would see if he could make some arrangements.

Mae had been the quietest but observant, and in the end, she had only wanted to meet the Meereen people, stating, "if they grew up in chains like me, they can't be that different."

To which that broke his fucking heart, and he hugged his adoptive daughter so tightly he didn't think he could crush her anymore, before going back to dinner.

Once the food had been consumed and their bellies were full, they all brought the children up to sleep. They tucked in Nesara first with a soft kiss to her forehead, wiping the drool from her chin. That was followed by Mae and Zaevar, who said goodnight with tight embraces. And then to the twin's chambers, both of which when they whispered their sweet dreams to them, each said 'I love you,' with the heartiest of sleepy whispers they had ever heard before their eyes closed.

When all five children were efficiently in their beds and sleeping, the king and queen finally retired to their chambers for the first time in weeks. Arya and Gendry had returned but had gone to bed early – for Gods knew what. Kinvara had returned back to the temple to rest as well, Taevar to his family, Rhaemon to his own home, and Eleana to her chambers.

Everything was at peace. For the first time in a fortnight.

The direwolves had gone to their respective master's chambers. Ari had fallen asleep on Dan's bed, while Ghost was resting in the corner of their chambers, still tired from the long journey and belly full from their feast. As much as Jon had embraced who he truly was, he would always have a spot in his heart for his direwolf. The dragons were most likely resting in their chambers now - he would introduce Ghost to Aryeon soon.

When they had finally walked into their chambers, Daenerys practically collapsed onto the bed, causing Ghost to look up from his nap, but go back to sleep a moment later. "Gods, I never thought I would miss this room," she mumbles into the furs.

Jon chuckles as he closes the door, moving to step next to her. "It is quite nice to be back. I missed it too – sleeping on that boat was tough."

Daenerys lifts her head from the fur and smiles wickedly, before leaning towards him. "It was even harder coupling – want to try for something a little easier now?"

Jon rolls his eyes. "Is that all you ever have on your mind?"

"Pretty much," she jokes before leaning up and kissing him, her arms wrapping around his neck. Jon smiles against her lips, embracing the moment. How his life had turned out this way, he still didn't know. A part of him always thought he was going to end up getting hurt by someone he loved again, someone he trusted.

But being in the arms of Daenerys Targaryen, he knew that would never happen. Looking at her, he could only see brightness. He could only see hope. It was a love that he had wanted for all his life, and now he had found it in her.

She pulls away after a moment and looks outside. "Look at all that we did," she whispers, her lips turned upward. "We brought together cities. We brought the Dothraki. They accepted you…it feels like just yesterday we were arriving in Meereen for the first time."

"And you almost sent me to the dungeons."

Daenerys snorts and looks at him. "I wouldn't have sent you there."

"If it wasn't for Dan, you probably would have."

"And do you blame me?" she chuckles a bit, raising an eyebrow.

Jon shakes his head. "No, I don't…that was before I knew the truth."

Daenerys looks at him, seeing his eyes shift from happiness to hate when thinking about Westeros. She rests a hand against his cheek and turns his head to look up at her. "Are you thinking about what Yara said too?"

Jon sighs. "Yes…I know we're helping the Iron Islands, and then secretly helping the North…but I can't help but wonder what might happen if some of the noblemen found out, or if even the commoners found out. They're going to know that Valyria is standing and strong and that we're the ones leading – or it might just be some tale to them – but if they find out it's directly us…I don't know what might happen."

"Well…we just take it as it comes, as we always have," Daenerys says softly. "Our lives have never been easy, but at this point, we should be used to it."

"I wish we didn't have to be used to it and it could be easy," he states, rather naively, but lets his shoulders drop. "I know that's a stupid way to think."

"No, it's not," she instantly states, grabbing his hand. "There's no reason why wanting an era of peace and normalcy is a bad way to think. That's what good rulers want, and what they ascribe to. And maybe someday with you and I at the helm, we can have that for real. Where our children and our children's children won't have to deal with the shit life has given us."

Jon leans in and presses his lips against hers gently, before she pulls away and stands, heading towards the balcony. He watches quietly at her, deciding at that moment he wasn't going to wait anymore. He needed to do this. But just to make sure, he walks towards the door and locks it, praying to all the gods above him and below him that Eleana stayed the fuck in her chambers.

"Look at everyone," he hears Daenerys whisper. "So happy in their homes, with their families, some even playing on the streets…this is what the world needs. Not war, not hatred or slavery…peace. I just wish more people could see that."

"And they will," he reassures her, before stepping behind her and wrapping his arms around her back. She leans against his chest, looking up at him. "But do you remember that thing I wanted to ask you?" he mentions to her.

She turns around in his arms to fully face him. "Right, you did say that. What is it? Eleana interrupted us the first time."

'Also the second time,' Jon thinks inwardly but keeps it in for her sake. He grabs her hand in his and swallows, looking at the ground before back at her. Her eyes shone with confusion, but even in the moonlight, he could see the reflection of her colors back at him, shining with a light he never imagined. He could get lost in them for centuries.

"Dany," he starts out, trying to find the right words. "You and I have been through…a lot. We've fought in wars together. We've faced our enemies together. We've had children together. We've taken over a kingdom together. But something has always felt missing. Something that I've wanted for a long time."

Instantly, he sees her face fall. "If this is about a third child, I-"

"No," he says to her softly,. "No, it's not about that. Not at all."

"Then what is it, Jon?" she asks, still confused.

"I love you, Dany," he continues, feeling his throat start to close and his eyes well up. For fuck's sake, he had practiced this he didn't even know how many times, and yet he still couldn't keep his bloody tears down. "I love you more than words could ever say. I don't know where I would be right now without you guiding me, without what we have built. You have given me something I never thought I would receive – a family, and a love that will be talked about for centuries. I look at you and every single time I do, it's like the first time I met you, and I fall in love more and more each day."

Her brow furrows but she still smiles. "I love you too, Jon. I feel the same way."

"But that's not just it," he continues. "You're truly my one and only, Dany…I thought that I had experienced love a long time ago, but there is nothing compared to you. You make me feel alive. You make me feel worth something. I used to wonder why the Lord of Light or whatever God is up there brought me back not once, but twice, but I know now. It wasn't just to face the Night King, or whatever comes after that. It was to be with you. To build a life with you. To grow old with you. Everything I never thought I would have – I know it's meant to be with you. We were made for each other – the last two dragons."

At this point, there were tears leaking out of her eyes, streaming down her cheeks, but she was silent for the most part with a soft smile on her lips. "Where is all this coming from?" she asks him softly.

"It's everything I've wanted to tell you for so long. Which is why I'm doing this." He leans down onto one knee, looking up at her. And instantly he sees a shift in her eyes. "I know that we've basically been married for Gods know how long, but I don't want to wait anymore. If there's a way we can do it now, I want to get married. I want to be able to walk around and truly say that Daenerys Targaryen is my wife, the woman that I love, and for years to come, with the family and the world we are trying to build for the better."

He squeezes her hands in his, the question lingering on his tongue.

"So, Daenerys, of House Targaryen – Breaker of Chains and Mother of Dragons," he states, causing her to laugh through her tears. "Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea," he continues, seeing her smile at the title. "Queen of Valyria, and Owner of my Heart…will you do me the biggest honor that I could ever have, and become my wife?"

A smile so bright it could light entire castles found its way onto her face. She pulls him up from where he knelt and nods quickly. "Yes," she breathes out. "I'll marry you."

Even though he knew she would say yes, it still lit him on fire nonetheless. He pulls her into his arms and spins her around, hearing her laugh from where she was before setting her back on the floor and entangling their lips in one of the most passionate kisses they had ever shared, his hands tangled in her silver hair, before resting to cup her face.

When he pulls away, he wipes at her tears and she does his own – ones he hadn't even realized were there.

"I love you so much," he whispers to her. "With my entire being, Daenerys."

She rests her forehead against his. "And I love you with my whole heart," she murmurs, kissing him again. "My soon-to-be husband," she adds on, which sent a shiver down his spine.

"For real this time," he mumbles, which causes her to laugh and then bury her face into his neck, holding onto him tightly. He rests his head atop her own, looking out into the city.

He knew that things wouldn't stay peaceful forever. There would always be some new issues or drama coming the next day after the next. But as he stood there, staring down at the woman he loved, feeling her body in his arms, knowing that she was going to be his wife…the world didn't seem so daunting right now. Everything seemed right.

Westeros could find out where they were. The rest of Essos could. Hell, Bran could come knocking on their door. But as long as they were together, he knew they could take on anything.

The dragons were going to raise fire as one, and he knew this was the first step to truly beginning their reign. Their love for each other – something the world had never seen.

He still didn't know how they would do the wedding with people knowing they had never married before taking over, but for now, he would bask in their happiness, and worry about that another day.

Because for once, he needed a break from the stresses of their lives, and to just be with the woman he loved for one peaceful night.

---

It's about damn time, am I right?

I know that this took super long to get out but I hope that this made up for the wait. Next chapter will be another mismatch of things before this story starts to get heavy and you'll see why, but for now enjoy the fluff and happiness because we all need a little bit of that nowadays. Also there will be more targlings in the next chapter as well so stay turned for more cute adventures with the Targaryen children. Excited to show it!

As always, love it? Hate it? Want to smash my head in like the Mountain did to Oberyn? (ouch). Let me know in the reviews, as they always keep me writing and wanting to push out these chapters for all of you as quickly as I can. Your reviews really do mean the world to me and give me a little bit of happiness in this world we're living in, so thank you for making my day a little brighter and making me want to write again - you guys are truly awesome! Don't forget to follow or favorite if you would like to join us on our adventure, and I will see you all in the next chapter. Thank you so much for reading and I hope you have a great day! Wash your hands and stay healthy!