Work Text:
When Rhaegar returned to King's Landing his daughter ran into his arms smiling, his son looked at him as if he didn't recognize his face, that made sense, it had been more than a year since he had last held Aegon in his arms, and when he tried to pick him up the boy cried and cried until one of Elia's ladies took him from his arms.
His wife did not laugh or cry, her face impassive as she saw him and as she stood beside him as he explained to the council and his father his plans to leave the next day to face Robert Baratheon in the open field. He spent that night in the library, rereading his prophecies, but in the morning he went to his old room, sat on the bed and watched Elia until she woke up.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
"Looking at you."
"Why?"
“Because I missed you the last few months.”
"I seriously doubt it, you had Lyanna Stark to look at didn't you?"
"..."
“Answer me Rhaegar.”
“I never meant to hurt you.”
“But you must have known it would happen, and you did anyway.”
“There is more at stake here than your pride Elia.”
“Yes there is, there is a kingdom divided by the war you started.”
“I will try to fix this.”
“And I hope you do, but forgive me for having my doubts.”
“What do you want from me Elia?”
"That you go fight your war, make your prophecies come true, or that you go back to your Lyanna's bed and have the third child you want so badly, that you do what you've done these last few months: stay away from me."
“As you wish… maybe you won’t believe me, but I do still love you.”
“And I could have loved you forever, now please go away” Elia said.
And he left.