Chapter Text
Harwin wasn't part of the talk between Daemon, Rhaenyra and the kids, but they had asked him to watch Viserys as they did, and he could see the change in the children as they all left the library after it happened.
They had told them about Visenya..
The morning after that was very quiet, and he could see the older four just being absolutely protective of their parents, never leaving them alone, and the house was very quiet for the day.
When the sun was setting, he was invited for the little moment they had in their garden, where Visenya's remains were buried, and the four oldest kids planted flowers around it as tribute.
"Thanks, pa," Jace spoke, stopping by his side.
Pa.
Not Harwin.
Pa.
He tried not to smile too much as it, knowing the moment wasn't one for such a thing.
"Anytime, kid."
New Years came and Harwin even got to meet Rhaenyra much cited 'Cousin Rhaegar', who had come from Essos to pay them a visit. His younger siblings were also in Valyria, but had other plans.
And then came the day he had to leave, and this time, he wasn't just leaving alone.
Jace was coming with him, and bringing his cat - Vermax - along.
It was not a surprise that Rhaenyra had been crying since the moment they started loading up the car and preparing to leave.
This time, thankfully, Caraxes wasn't going to ride with them.
"Call us when you land," Rhaena squeezed Jace. "And send loads of pictures. And text everyday."
He smiled, kissing her cheek, and Harwin could see how she looked very hurt that he was leaving.
"If you don't call us and text us every morning I'll show up there to remind you myself," Baela scolded him when she reached him. "And take care of your hair. You bleached it already, you don't want to look like you don't take care of yourself."
Jace scoffed.
"I'll miss you bugging me too, Baela," he wrapped his arms around her, squeezing her.
The girl pouted a little, rolling her eyes, but squeezed him back very tightly.
She mumbled something in Valyrian, and whatever it was, it made Jace smile and kiss her cheek.
He had said goodbye to their little ones the night before, which was why Aegon had taken especially long to fall asleep because Jace would be gone when they woke up.
Joffrey was coming with them to the airport, still in his pyjamas, and everyone was ready for a long crying session as he said goodbye to everyone.
The twins left to give space to Rhaenyra, who was already crying again as they said goodbye to their uncle Joffrey, who looked like he was about to fall asleep on his feet, not too different from his little counterpart, who was fast asleep on his seat.
"Oh, let me look at you," she grabbed his face, as if she wasn't going to be the one driving him to the airport. "I'm going to miss you so much!"
"I know, mum."
Rhaenyra kissed his face again, squeezing him close, and Harwin looked at his side when Laenor touched his back.
"Hey," he called softly. "Can I have a word real quick?"
"Sure."
He followed him out of the garage under a shade, and Laenor shifted on his feet nervously.
"I want to apologise," he pushed his hands into his pockets. "About the tantrum I threw that other day. About Jace going to live with you."
Harwin breathed in.
Oh. That.
"I get it," he assured him. "I know... I know it's always been hard for you, especially at the start. And seeing the boys so little too… I get it."
He remembered the day Rhaenyra approached him, the first time. They had been hooking up for a while, always with condoms because she had a husband and they didn't want an accident.
They had never even thought about babies until she told him what the doctors had said about Laenor, and about how much they wanted one.
And he obliged, because he was very young and didn't think of the consequences of having a child of his passing as someone else's.
Laenor always cared so much because he wanted a kid just as much as Rhaenyra did, and he couldn't have one.
"It was hard! But it was just as hard for you," Laenor looked at him. "You made a huge sacrifice for us, and all you wanted was to be around the boys wheneber you could. And I haven't been very nice about sharing them because I thought in my mind that if I wasn't the world's best and most present father, then I was no father at all because I shared no blood with them."
His dark purple eyes filled with tears, and there was no attempt of blinking them away as he shook his head, smiling sadly.
"I just... you know, Daemon is married to Rhaenyra now," he pointed out. "And... well, I guess he replaced me as her best friend when he became her husband. And I'm alright with that because she deserves a husband. A real one, not a paper one."
"She does," Harwin agreed.
Laenor sighed.
"I guess I never thought of him as replacing me until I heard the kids calling him dad," he told him. "And that triggered my fears again. Of not being a father enough, especially living so far away!"
Harwin nodded along.
"And the kids call him dad, and... well, he is their step dad, he does a lot. I'm always afraid of being replaced by him, and then with Jace going with you..."
He looked at Harwin, and he could see all that pain on his face.
"I was afraid you were trying to take what little place I had in my mind with my sons," he confessed, at last. "You've done a lot for our family and I think I forgot that you are also a part of it, that you are also their dad and you also want to spend time with them."
Harwin shook his head, chuckling a bit.
"We both got a little jealous," he assured him. "The boys love you, Laenor. You are their father, but they have more than one father!"
Laenor laughed, drying his tears.
"Oh, yes, they have four of them,” he pointed out. "Joffrey just had to step into Valyria and he was promoted! Just like that!"
Harwin laughed along, and patted him on the back.
"Hey... all is forgiven," he assured him. "I’ll never try to replace in their lives, nor any of the other two. And you know... at least we are not Daemon."
His friend laughed.
"Yeah, that one has a lot to learn about apologies and sharing."
"I let him go with you, that's enough for apologies and sharing," Daemon gruffed from inside the garage. "Are you two done?"
Laenor shook his head.
"Yeah," he decided.
But Rhaenyra was the only one even moving to get into the car, shoving her things onto the passenger seat.
Daemon was in a corner with Jace, his arms crossed as he leaned close to speak to him in Valyrian, very soft, as if he didn't want anyone to hear.
Harwin thought he had seen his lower lip trembling for the shortest bit of time before he pursed his lips, and Daemon blinked a little too quickly as he hugged Jace close, sniffing for a moment.
He pressed his lips to his temple for a long moment, saying something to him and patting him on the back.
Daemon turned back, jerking his head to the side, and his posture changed when the door to the garage opened.
"Look who is awake," Luke announced, carrying Viserys and with Aegon right on his feet, they both looking very messy. "They begged me to come say goodbye."
Harwin expected the boys to both go over to Laenor but he was surprised to find Aegon right on his leg, extending his arms to him.
He picked him up, and smiled when the boy pressed a very wet kiss to his cheek.
"Geros ilas," he spoke, squeezing him, and when he turned to Laenor, he was squeezing and kissing Viserys' chubby face.
"Geros ilas, zaldriztsos," Laenor smiled.
Geros ilas... maybe it meant goodbye?
"Geros ilas," he kissed Aegon's cheek.
The boy threw himself at Laenor just as Viserys tried to get to him, and Harwin quickly got another big smooch on his face.
"Geros ilas," he spoke to the little one.
"Ge-laaaas," he babbled back.
He chuckled.
"Yeah, Valyrian is hard for me too," he laughed. "Goodbye."
But his attention was quickly taken away when the boy saw Jace, squirming to get to his brother, and Harwin was quick to put him down, seeing him running to squeeze Jace.
When he looked at Daemon he didn't look very happy. He was absolutely jealous.
Well... he didn't need to share those two, at least.
"Ñuho zaldriztsos," Daemon called them.
He rushed to them, picking the two up, and his little dragons squealed and giggled in response to being carried off.
"Hey, if kepa's not going, can I go?" Luke asked quickly. "I'm even dressed up."
Rhaenyra turned to look at him with a bit of a sigh, but smiled.
"Yeah, we can get a nice breakfast and ice cream on the way back," she decided.
"It'll be like the little dates you two had when Jace was at school," Laenor walked to the car.
Jace looked at them, looking annoyed as he sat on the driver's seat.
"How come we never had dates like that?"
"We did, baby," she told him. "Remember when we went to the park that day your father took Luke to see that doctor because of his nose?"
Luke gasped.
"You didn't go with me because you were taking Jace to the park?"
Harwin laughed as he buckled his seatbelt, and he could see Jace checking if everyone had done the same before starting the car, and the sun was just rising slowly as they hit the road.
"Your brother needed a little bit of attention, honey," she reminded him. "And your father wanted to be the one to take you there."
"What happened to your nose?" Harwin asked.
The whole car felt tense for a moment.
"Well... I have to start this story by saying I was trying to protect Jace," Luke told him. "And by the end of it, a lot of people ended up going to the hospital."
Harwin frowned.
"Alright?" he agreed.
"It's messy," Rhaenyra added.
"Come on, mum. We have four dads," Jace pointed out. "That is not our messiest story."
That made him laugh again.
Yes. This was his messy family.
"So... you know how my uncle Aemond only has one eye?"
