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Dany peered up from the book she was reading, enjoying the kiss of the hot summer sun on her skin. She didn't see either kid, but that didn't mean much. The water park was packed and it was easy to lose sight of them.
“Rhaenys! Aegon!” She yelled and both children popped up from the water and waved.
Thank the gods, Dany thought to herself as she brought her eyes back down to her book. She had not been paying attention whatsoever.
She didn't really want to be here, but her older brother had begged her to take his kids to the water park so he could take his wife out for the day. Elia had just been diagnosed with cancer and while the prognosis was positive and the type of cancer had a high survival rate, it was still terrifying. They had been open and honest with the children, but things like going to the water park were also a really good distraction, and Dany truly didn't mind helping.
Her niece and nephew were old enough, twelve and eight, so it wasn't too rough when she babysat them. Not like when they were toddlers and Dany couldn't look away for a millisecond without losing one or someone breaking something. Or hurting themselves.
She loved them too. She'd been actively involved in their lives since their births and felt more like an older sister than an aunt.
The water park wasn't really her thing though – the thought of so many kids peeing in the water completely turning her off – but she decided getting a nice tan at the beginning of summer wouldn't hurt. Sure, she couldn't wear the bikini she really wanted to achieve the least tan lines, not in front of the kids anyway, but she still looked good in the one she’d chosen. Good enough for some creepy old men to check her out and make her want to cover up.
She tried to get back into her story but was distracted by booming laughter. Her head turned towards the noise and she grinned. These two boys – well, men – had been at the water park all day with their father. They appeared to be around her age, maybe a little older, but it looked like they'd been having the time of their life.
Dany thought it was sweet. The father seemed to genuinely be enjoying the time with his kids and they all exuded happiness. It didn't hurt that the boys were very attractive either. The one with the dark brown hair, so dark it looked black, had been catching her eye all day. She'd caught him looking too, but he seemed committed to spending the time with his father and she respected that.
Though she really, really wanted to see his abs up close. Touch them. Lick them –
Get your brain out of the gutter, Dany!
She'd been single for a few months now and was in a bit of a drought. The breakup wasn’t anything dramatic. The relationship had run its course and that was okay.
She watched as the boys and their father got into another inflatable and flew down the slide together. She couldn't help but laugh, their own laughter infectious.
She checked on Rhaenys and Aegon one more time before diving back into her book.
An hour later, Dany found herself reapplying sunscreen to Aegon.
“If you go home burned, I'm going to hear about it.” Dany scolded him. Aegon had been avoiding her and trying his best to not reapply, arguing he was half-Dornish and didn't need sunscreen. “You're half-Targaryen too and unfortunately for you, that means you get sunburnt.”
And your mother literally has skin cancer. Dany kept that comment to herself. She was doing this to distract them, not remind them.
“Sorry Auntie Dany. I was just having fun.” Aegon apologized sweetly. “I just don't like stopping.”
Dany smiled at him, turning him around. “That's alright. I'm glad you're having fun. You're a great kid, Egg.”
Aegon gave her one of his cheesy, eight year old smiles and Dany laughed as he ran away.
She took the excess sunscreen on her hands and rubbed it into her arms.
“Do you need help too?” She heard a deep, very Northern voice from behind her.
She was ready to scold the man – assuming the worst – but instead her jaw dropped when she saw the black haired man she'd been staring at from earlier.
Dany quickly recovered and shut her mouth before smiling. “I do, but I'm not sure about letting a stranger touch me. There's lots of creepy men around here.”
She couldn't help but think of the older man from earlier. He was large and maybe once attractive, but he sported a beer belly and did not mind showing it off. He reeked of liquor and had a younger woman on his arm while his three children ran around, the eldest terrorizing other kids.
Dany turned back to the man in front of her and noticed him blush. She found it endearing.
“Aye, I guess that is kind of creepy of me to offer, huh?”
Dany laughed. “It is, but your reaction now makes me think your offer was more innocent than it seemed.”
He held his hands up in surrender. “It was, I promise. I just noticed your hands seemed full with two kids –”
“They're not mine.” Dany was quick to interject. She didn't want him to think she had two children. She was only 22. Did she look old enough to have a twelve year old child? “Well, I mean, they're my niece and nephew. My brother's kids.”
He laughed at her quick reply. “I didn't think they were your kids.”
Dany smiled, blushing a little herself. She wasn't sure what to say next. “You look like you've been having fun. Is it just you and your dad and…brother?”
“Aye.” He replied, sitting down in the chair across from hers. “We both just graduated from college and moved back home. My dad missed us and thought this would be fun. Obviously, we couldn't say no.”
“That's so sweet.” Dany grinned. “Are you guys close?”
“We are.” He replied, a small smile gracing his lips. They were very nice lips, she noted. “He missed us while we were gone. Stuck with my younger brothers and sisters who can be a handful, especially when they're fighting.”
“Aunt Dany!” Rhaenys yelled frantically, interrupting them. “I need help! Hurry!”
“Okay, give me a minute!” Dany yelled back and then sighed. “Well, I guess duty calls. I'll see you around….?”
“Jon.” He filled in for her. “And you are?”
“Daenerys, but my friends call me Dany.”
“Nice to meet you, Dany.”
“You too.” She smiled before standing up and heading towards Rhaenys to help her with whatever she needed.
Dany stood outside the bathroom, waiting for Rhaenys. The poor girl's period had started – only her second one – and she was mortified. Dany felt bad but was grateful she was prepared for all scenarios. Rhaegar and Elia thought it might be coming and Dany knew you could never be too careful, so she made sure to pack an extra pair of clothes and some pads for her.
She spotted Jon again and grinned widely when he noticed her and walked over.
“Everything alright with your niece?” Jon asked as he greeted her.
Dany nodded. “Yeah, just girl stuff. Thankfully something I'm equipped to handle.”
Jon nodded, seemingly understanding the issue. “Damn, at a water park? Does that ruin the whole thing?”
“Well…she's pretty young so yes, for her it does. We'll get by. I promised her ice cream and a girls night. I think that'll suffice.”
“You seem really close with them.” Jon stated, leaning against the wall next to Dany.
“I am.” Dany said with a smile, thinking about her niece and nephew. “My brother is a lot older than me but lived next door growing up. I was so excited when Rhaenys was born. I'm the youngest so, you know, I didn't get to play with anyone younger than me. It was fun, getting to play with a baby. She was like my own personal doll until she started pulling hair and biting.”
“Aye, babies are fun.” Jon agreed before clarifying. “I have four other siblings, all younger. I've been around babies my whole life.”
Dany couldn't help but feel relieved that he didn't say it was because he had his own child. She barely knew him but she liked him. She could admit that to herself.
Rhaenys came out of the bathroom and Dany couldn't stop herself from hugging her. She was growing up too fast.
“Do you need any ibuprofen?”
Rhaenys shook her head. “I feel okay, I think.” She noticed Jon. “Aunt Dany, who's this?”
“This is Jon.” Dany introduced. Jon gave a small wave.
“Is he your boyfriend?” Rhaenys asked, somewhat shyly. Sometimes the girl could be so blunt.
Dany snorted, her eyes traveling to Jon's. He smiled warmly. “He's not. We only just met today. He's here with his family too.”
Rhaenys dropped the subject but smiled at Jon before turning to Dany with a frown, rubbing her pelvic area. “Can we just get Aegon and go home?”
Dany sighed and looked over to where Aegon was playing with a group of kids. He wouldn't want to leave and he couldn't know or understand why Rhaenys didn't want to stay.
“I think Aegon wants to stay a little longer, but we can get some food and plan our girls night while we give him some more time?”
Dany noticed Jon's father and brother heading over.
“Time for you to go?”
Jon nodded. “Aye, we've got a few more rides we need to do. We made a whole list based on things we did as kids.”
Dany grinned again. Her cheeks were starting to hurt from how much she was smiling around Jon.
“Actually, I know you're busy but would you mind getting a picture of us? On the intertubes, to show our siblings.”
“Yeah, um, can you watch Egg for me first? We'll go grab food and then meet back for your picture?”
“Sure.” Jon agreed. “You trust me to watch him?”
Dany nodded. “Oh yeah, he's pretty smart. And he's been in tae kwon do since he was like five so I trust he could kick you where he needs to and run.”
Jon snorted at that. “At least let me give you my number –”
“Oh, duh, obviously.” Dany said as she whipped out her phone and they exchanged numbers. She then snapped a picture of him. “And your full name Jon?”
“Jon Stark.” He replied with a chuckle. “Do you need my driver's license too? Blood type?”
Dany playfully rolled her eyes but it actually wasn't the worst idea.
“Aegon!” Dany called and he ran right over. He really was a good kid. “This is Jon. He's going to watch you while Nys and I get some food. Are you okay with that?”
“Yeah!” Aegon agreed easily. “He and his brother have been doing all the fun stuff!”
Dany laughed. “Okay, and if he does anything suspicious, you know where to kick him, right?”
Aegon nodded dutifully. “And how to break his nose too.”
Dany grinned and Jon looked slightly concerned. “Perfect. We'll be back shortly.”
Dany and Rhaenys found Jon, Aegon, and his family fairly easy. Dany went ahead and bought a whole pizza to share, in case they were hungry. It was easier to carry the box around anyway.
“Auntie Dany!” Aegon greeted her, giddy with excitement. “They let me go on the big slide with them!”
Dany's eyes widened a little bit – she'd told him no because she didn't want to go on – but she quickly schooled her features realizing he was still in one piece and went with them, not by himself.
“Was it everything you hoped for?”
Aegon shook his head happily. “Yeah! Jon said we can go again too!”
Dany arched an eyebrow at Jon and he shrugged innocently.
“We don't mind.” Jon told her. “By the way, this is my brother Robb and my father, Ned.”
“Nice to meet you.” Dany said honestly. “You guys have been so entertaining all day. And thank you for letting my nephew tag along. I'm not as exciting as you guys are.”
“He's been wonderful.” Ned replied kindly. “We certainly didn't mind him tagging along.”
Dany smiled gratefully and turned to Jon. “Alright, well, just let me know when you're ready and I can snap some pictures for you guys.”
“Now is good?”
Dany nodded and the three of them took off while Rhaenys and Aegon ate some pizza. Dany had her camera open, ready to snap some pictures of the trio. She laughed so hard at their pose. Jon and Robb were laying on their stomachs at the front, holding on like two small kids while Ned sat behind him, arms on the back of the inflatable, watching over his children. They were all laughing and smiling and she snapped away. Once they were done with the ride, she sent Jon the pictures.
She was excited that she had his number. She hoped that maybe they’d keep in contact after this. He said he had moved home which made her hopeful that he lived locally.
“Alright, guys, I think it’s time to go.” Dany told the kids, checking her message from Rhaegar.
“I don’t want to go!” Aegon cried. “I want to hang out with Jon and Robb more!”
Dany chuckled. They ended up spending the rest of the day with them, the Starks taking Aegon along with them while she and Rhaenys spent time together. Dany was sad that Rhaenys couldn’t get in the water anymore, too young to even attempt a tampon, but they still had fun gossiping about school and everything else in Rhaenys’s life.
She couldn’t be more grateful for Jon today. He and his dad and brother had made Aegon’s day. The goal was to distract them from Elia’s cancer diagnosis and she felt she had been successful.
Jon offered to walk them to the car and Dany accepted. Jon helped her buckled the kids up inside. She couldn't believe they still had booster seats at their ages but supposed it was safer. Now, she and Jon were standing outside, saying goodbye.
“Thank you so much for helping with Aegon.” Dany told him. “You were a real lifesaver. You certainly didn't have to let us tag along, but it really helped.”
Jon smiled bashfully. “He was a lot of fun too. I think it made us look less weird to everyone else when we had a kid with us.”
Dany laughed at that. “Yeah, but you guys spending the day with your dad was really sweet too.”
They both smiled then, and Dany bit her lip. Before she could talk herself out of it, she stood on her toes and kissed Jon ever so softly before pulling back.
“Was that too forward?” She asked.
Jon didn't reply. He only shook his head as he pulled her in for another kiss, this one a little deeper.
They broke apart – there were children in the car after all – and she grinned. “You’re going to call me after this, right?”
He nodded. “Aye. I’d like to take you out on a date.”
“Good.” Dany replied. “I’d like to go on one with you too.”
Jon opened the driver door for her, but she stopped once more. She slyly smiled at him and then ran her hand across his abs. She practically whimpered. "I'm so sorry, I had to. I've been staring at them all day."
Jon barked out a laugh and invaded her personal space, his lips coming to her ear, whispering. "I'll let you do more than that if our date goes well."
Dany's jaw dropped open, playfully. "Don't forget to call me later then!"
Jon playfully pulled out his phone, pulling up her contact info and hitting the call button.
Dany shook her head as her phone rang. She had a good feeling about him.