Magical Menagerie

They headed back to her flat, hand in hand, whilst Dany's mind raced. She really had wanted to take both the romance and friendship side of their relationship slowly, but today had made her realise that that was not going to be possible. One way or another, Jon was going to find out soon, and it would be a lot less painful if she were the one to tell him.

"Are you working tomorrow?" she asked him as they walked back.

"Aye, but not until late morning." He sighed. "Better do a bit more promoting, I suppose. A few more ads at some local gyms?"

"Or in shop windows?"

He laughed. "I thought you didn't agree with that?"

"Did I say I was offering?"

He smirked. "I thought earlier you were offering something."

"Behave!" she said, laughing. "Anyway, the dogs missed out on their walk this morning and I usually take them out to the woods at the weekend."

Jon looked at his watch. "Is there still time for that?"

"Perhaps? Would you like to come with us?"

He grinned. "Of course."

They stopped off at the shop to get a few things for a picnic and Dany sent Jon upstairs to prepare the food whilst she got the dogs ready. Half and hour later and they were all in her shop van, driving off to the woods a couple of miles outside of town, the summer sun shining brightly and promising plenty more hours of daylight.

"Walking with these dragons is definitely easier than running," Jon said, as they strode through the woodlands. Although it's a shame you've not got a free hand I can hold."

"Nothing simpler." Dany briefly placed both leads in one hand, looped her right through Jon's left arm and then took Drogon's lead back, smiling brightly. "Now we just have to hope they don't see a squirrel or we're going to end up in a tangled pile on the ground."

"Sounds fun."

She frowned. "What?"

"Getting tangled up with you sounds like fun." Jon was watching her carefully as if judging her reaction to his teasing. "Can I stay again tonight?"

Her stomach twisted beautifully on seeing the look he was now giving her. "I-I'm not sure. It's what we were talking about last night - about wanting to take it slowly and get to know each other? - but, if we don't know each other well enough to share our darkest secrets, should we really be … getting to know each other?"

He grinned. "I understand. This is all a bit … whirlwind, isn't it?" She nodded. "And both Gendry and Davos have assumed that we're seriously involved anyway."

"So you think that we might as well, if they already believe it?"

He turned to give her another intense look. "No, Dany, that's not why I want to stay tonight."

She held his gaze for a moment before nodding. "Okay, but we're going to have to watch a DVD first."

He frowned. "What? Why?"

"Trust me, Jon," she said with a sigh, "you're going to need to see this before you make any definite decisions about us."

~o~0~o~

They stopped for a picnic at the far end of the wood before starting the long walk back to the van. Then they returned to Dany's flat where they started to prepare a salad to eat in front of the television. Jon came behind her whilst she was washing the leaves, sliding his arms around her middle and pulling her back against him. It reminded of how she's woken up this morning and she sighed, her whole body tingling as he bent down to kiss her neck.

"Jon, that's not helping."

"Is it not?"

"You are so distracting."

"Hmm." He kissed her there again, biting gently and she gasped, suddenly pulling away. This was only going one way now and she wanted it so much. Wanted him so much. But she couldn't … not until …

"Food and TV first," she insisted.

"What about the second film?"

"Next time," she replied firmly. 'If there is a next time.'

They settled the food down on an occasional table, with lap trays to eat off, but began by watching an historical drama that was playing on television, one which they both happened to follow anyway. That worked better, Dany decided, as having food around when the DVD was playing would just make the whole situation far more awkward.

"Right," she said once the plates were cleared away. "This one is called 'Magical Menagerie'."

"I've heard of it, of course," Jon said. "The most popular fantasy show in the world."

"And yet you haven't seen a single episode."

He shrugged. "I know nothing, remember?"

"What do you know about it?"

"Lots of magical animals and people who ride them?"

"They're called Riders, yes, but that's not really what it means. There are people born with the power to bond with animals, you see. Some can physically ride the larger creatures but mostly it's about getting into their heads and seeing through their eyes? To outsiders it seems as if the Riders control the animals but it's far more of a two way street." She shook her head. "Anyway, you don't really need to know that before you start. It should all become obvious in the first couple of episodes." She sighed loudly. "If you get that far."

Her heart was beating fast as the prologue came up; a scene setting up the show, some important back-stories and the whole concept of the Riders. Then the credits and the earliest scenes, introducing the main family in the show. Dany glanced down at the counter. Another fifteen minutes or so until …

Jon was obviously aware of her nervousness. "Aren't you watching?"

"I'm more curious about your reactions," she replied honestly, deciding to pause it for a minute and give her nerves a chance to calm.

"It's interesting," he said. "I already like this family and want to know more about them. They're the heroes of the story, yes?"

"You could say that," she replied, carefully, "although this isn't really a white hat, black hat sort of world."

He nodded. "Yes, I'm getting that impression already. And all their complaints about this southern faction? It seems to me that they're making too much of a deal about how bad those other Riders are."

Dany smiled at the comment, strangely pleased at how much he was already understanding. "Interesting," was all she said though, pressing the button again. Just one more scene and then …

'Here we go … God, I was so small!'

The little girl had her back to the camera with her long intricately woven blonde plait falling down her back. The boys were walking past, quite unaware she was there, talking about the previous scene and how excited there were about what had happened. And then the girl turned.

"Really? You were able to Warg him when you were asleep? I could do that when I was five!"

Dany winced at both the sound of the high pitched voice and at Khaleesi's condescending attitude. She glanced at Jon to see him smiling, amused by the interaction and then … a small frown. He leant forward slightly, his eyes widening as the camera panned in, just as Khaleesi laughed and Dany realised that that was all it would take. That was her laugh and whether she was twelve or twenty-three there was absolutely no mistaking it.

Jon was now gaping, turning his head first towards her and then back to the screen. "Dany?"

She winced. "Ah, I'm a bitch, apparently."

"What?" He grabbed the remote control out of her hand, rewinding slightly until her close up re-appeared before pressing pause. Dany picked up the DVD cover and handed it to him and Jon snatched that off her even more violently than he had the remote, scanning the front cover until he found her image, before quickly checking for the cast list.

"Daenerys? T-that's what Gendry called you," he realised.

"Yeah."

"Daenerys Targaryen? I thought your name was Storm."

She shook her head. "I've just taken my mother's maiden name since it all ended. Hoped it might make it easier to keep a low profile."

"But this show ran for years. How long were you in it for?"

"Most of it." It was silly really but she had got in the habit of not telling people when she left because of spoilers but that was hardly important right now. "Five of the seven seasons."

"Wow! How old were you here?"

"Twelve. Although Khaleesi is supposed to be ten."

"Yes, you look about nine or ten."

"The advantage of being small and cute."

"You've not changed that much." He pulled a face. "No, that sounds wrong now I say it."

Dany giggled, pleased that Jon seemed to be taking it all far better than she'd expected. She turned to pick up the magazine she had ready, opening it to the article written during her last year on the show. "Here you go. I was about eighteen here and had just finished filming my last episode. Not that people knew that at the time."

"You haven't changed that much," he said as he took it off her, his gaze darting between her and the picture. "Nice outfit though."

She smirked. "Don't expect any role playing."

And then he actually smiled at her; open, bright and … happy? "I'm going out with a famous actress?"

"Huh! Except I'm not any more."

"Child star problems?"

"Now I see what Gendry and your family mean. Does my name really not ring any bells? I can understand why you hadn't seen the show but surely all the news that came out about me later. The gossip columns?"

He frowned. "Not really into that celebrity stuff either."

Dany dropped her head back against the sofa. "Great!" That meant she'd have to tell him about that soon too or he'd inevitably go online and discover it for himself. She really didn't think she could deal with that right now though. "Let's leave all of that for another day."

"Okay." He picked up the remote. "Let's finish the episode."

"Really?"

"Yes, and perhaps the next one. I was enjoying it anyway but now I have a new favourite character to watch."

"Khaleesi's your favourite?" she asked, sceptically.

"Of course. Who doesn't love a small, cute, blonde girl with attitude?"

"Attitude? Okay, that's one of the better things to have been said about her. Especially during season one."

"Hush," he said, his attention now back at the screen. "Let me watch!"

It wasn't long before they reached the scene which introduced Khaleesi's Familiar. The little girl was one of the few Riders to have ever bonded with a dragon and the only one in that world currently. "Ha!" Jon said, turning to her with a grin. "He's called Drogon. Now I get it!"

She smiled, finally relaxing back against the sofa so she could watch the screen more than watching Jon. His arm had found its way back around her shoulders and Dany swallowed hard, blinking back tears. She really couldn't have expected it to have gone any better than this.

~o~0~o~

"What time is it?" Jon asked as episode three came to an end.

"Nearly midnight."

"God, why is this show so addictive?"

"Probably because you've become obsessed with the bad girl."

"Khaleesi is not bad," he disagreed. "She's just a bit spoilt and very misunderstood."

Dany smiled brightly. "Well, you won't find me arguing with that, but I think that's enough for today."

"And you know what happens and even how the whole thing ends?"

"Yes," she replied smugly. "But don't ask me. You'll enjoy it much more if you go on the journey properly. Watch out for spoilers too and especially well meaning friends and family. I would suggest you don't tell people you're watching it but, well, with me around, that might be a bit difficult."

"Yeah, it's my cousin's favourite show so ..." He sighed. "I'll just have to watch it all very quickly then, won't I?"

"Jon, there's hours of it."

"One more episode tonight?" he begged.

"No, not if you're planning on walking home."

He turned to her, his gaze dark and already beautifully familiar. "I wasn't."

"Spare room?" she asked with a slight smirk.

"Perhaps?" Then he leant forwards and kissed her, gently at first, but slowly deepening.

How had she managed to go so long without the feel of his lips on hers? How long had it been? Sixteen hours? That wasn't long … and it was far too long. Dany gasped, grabbing at his hair, running her fingers through his curls, whilst his hands found her waist and his lips licked hers. She quickly got the hint, opening her mouth to allow him in and he sat up, gently pushing her onto her back on the sofa, one hand sliding up under her shirt and stroking her bare tummy whilst his thumb deliberately grazed the base of her breast.

"Jon?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm lying on stuff here." She wriggled a bit, pulling the magazine, DVD cover and remote control from under her whilst Jon used the pause as an excuse to start unbuttoning her shirt. Whilst he was doing that, Dany began to pull his T-shirt out from his jeans, her own hands on his stomach, keen to explore those amazing muscles she'd seen last night. Jon had her shirt open already and stopped kissing her briefly, staring in awe, before dropping down to her neck and nuzzling her there. She threw her head back, gasping, still trying to pull up his shirt, but then he was kissing the top of her breasts just above the lace of her bra and she seemed unable to do anything other than lie back and gasp.

"You're so beautiful," he said, moving back to kiss her lips. "I know there's still so much we both need to talk about but … I'm not sure I want to do that right now. Right now I just want to keep tasting you."

"Yes," she gasped. "But we've got work tomorrow."

"We'll be tired then. Dany, I want you so much but … it's more than that. I'm falling for you … hard and … God, you're delicious!" And he bent down to kiss her lips again, his hands on her stomach, her breasts, caressing her face and then lower, fingers teasing under her leggings.

She tugged again at Jon's T-shirt and he finally got the message, sitting up for just long enough to pull it over his head before returning to her, sucking harder at her neck as his fingers teased her bra strap off her shoulder. He was feeling heavy on her legs but Dany didn't want him to stop, so she wriggled herself a bit under him, persuading him to take his weight off her just enough for her to move her legs - one on each side of his hips – and putting the two of them in a far more intimate position as a result.

Jon groaned at the new sensation, pressing his hips forwards as his lips followed her bra strap, lower and lower until …

Dany shouted his name as he took one nipple in his mouth, suckling, nibbling, and causing the most amazing sensations to vibrate through her body. She thought about suggesting they moved into her bedroom but really didn't want to stop. Didn't even want to pause. As his hands started to wriggle behind her back her own hand followed, quickly undoing the catch of her bra and impatiently throwing it on the floor. Jon sat up again and swore quietly as he took in the sight of her topless, before dropping down to kiss the breast which had been hidden from him until that point. His hands were now back to teasing under her leggings, slowly sliding down underneath and Dany keened as she arched her hips, allowing his finger to explore a little further. At the same time she fumbled with the fastening on his jeans, quickly unbuttoning them and sliding down the zip. She grabbed him through his boxers, delighting at the feel of him, and smirking as he quietly cursed again. No going back now.

As if in response to this last thought, Jon moved, kneeling up on the sofa and licking his lips as he relished just how much of her was now exposed to him. Her leggings were currently sitting very low on her hips and he tried to pull them even further down but that wasn't possible with her legs wrapped around him so he first sat her up and then encouraged her to stand with him so he could finally remove those lower layers. Then, once she was fully naked, he sat her back on the sofa and settled himself in-between her thighs.

"Jon? What are you … aah!"

The press of his lips between her legs had her gasping and he paused only to glance up at her, smirking as he saw her shocked look. "You're so beautiful," he declared. "And so I want to kiss you everywhere. Just trust me. I think you'll enjoy this."

And then he headed back down and Dany cried out, dropping her head back against the sofa as Jon lifted her legs over his shoulders and started to use his mouth and tongue on her in ways she'd never even imagined before.

"But, I can't reach you down there," she gasped, her hands now lightly tangled in his hair but desperately grabbing for more.

Jon looked up at her briefly from between her legs, curls falling over dark eyes which were now full of desire. "Patience, little one," he said, licking his lips. "Just lie there and enjoy it. You can do your Warg riding later."

~o~0~o~

A/N: In my mind, the character of Khaleesi is a cross between GOT's Daenerys, Arya & Harry Potter's Draco Malfoy. A young, spoilt, badass child who becomes considerably more sympathetic as the years go by. I also had in my mind the stories that actors like Lena tell of the rude things people say to their faces when they're out and about.

Also, whilst writing this, the world of MM started to form in my head to the extend where I have started making notes for a new fic which will be a strange cross between an MM sequel and a Game of Thrones Canon Era AU. You have been warned! :P