Chapter Text
The background of everything was such that Aemond buys a motorcycle for his 20th birthday with the money earned from working in a blacksmith shop and in parallel in a jewelry shop. His whole family isn't very happy about such a purchase: Aegon believes that this money could buy anything or invest it in a business, but not a motorcycle; Otto considers it a waste of money; Alicent worries that riding it will not end well, and Helaena isn't interested in it, but still congratulates on the purchase with all the sincerity that she is capable of. He is not surprised or upset by their reaction.
On the part of his sister Rhaenyra, there was also congratulations on the purchase, but less sincere, although uncle Daemon appreciated, but preferred more classics than new models. The only one who was delighted and stayed in it to this interesting day was Luke. He came to visit him on the same day when he just heard his mother talking to his grandmother and saying that Aemond isn't the person who will disregard the rules of driving a motorcycle, that everything is fine and she should calm down and be happy for him. Aemond also learns this from him as soon as he opens the front door.
The interesting thing starts when his guest asks him to show him the motorcycle right away, of course, he asks very politely, and then he almost blows up half of the garage because it was his favorite motorcycle model (Aemond didn't know that he understood them, it was a good surprise) and that he was very envious, but at the same time very happy.
Aemond doesn't know how to react, it was their first such conversation and their first meeting in 2 years in life, before that communication was by necessity messages or in extreme cases calls (REALLY extreme case) so he just thanked his nephew and at the moment is watching how this beastie touches the handles, feels the wheels, carefully climbs on the seat and probably imagines himself to be the coolest motorcyclist in the whole fucking world.
Aemond twists the ring on his index finger with his thumb, looks into the phone at messages about orders from work and looks up at Lucerys. He sees how in one second his facial expressions change from infinitely joyful to sad with notes of disappointment in something. This isn't what he expected in the end after seeing Luke glowing in front of his house door, so he hangs around analyzing the situation.
"What's wrong, beastie?"
Luke raises his head and looks in the direction of Aemond, then lets go back on the motorcycle, "I'm really glad you bought it, uncle, it's wonderful. I just realized just now how much I want to ride it, but you're unlikely to let me do it."
"It's great that you figured it out yourself right away, smart boy."
"Please?" Lucerys raised his eyes and looked directly at Aemond.
"What?" Aemond put his phone in his pocket and folded his arms across his chest.
"Please, can I ride it at least in front of the house?"
"Even when you're so upset right now from knowing my answer, you don't stop hoping otherwise, do you?" A smirk appeared on Aemond's face.
"Yes, I think? I can help you with anything in return for a ride on your bike, literally with anything." Lucerys crossed his fingers on the motorcycle's gas tank.
"Have I ever been unable to do something on my own? Without anyone's help?" Aemond lifted his chin up as he asked the question.
"You.. Oooh, I don't mean that! I'm sorry, I'm just suggesting in the future, there, to look after your dog if you go somewhere, to babysit Helaena's children if you don't have time for this or if you are very tired after work, or even with your work? I don't know, maybe I would help with the move that you are going to do from one workshop to another? What do you think of the options, is there something to think about and give permission to ride?
Aemond will lie if he says that the option with Helaena's children after work and moving to a new workshop didn't interest him, but it will be in the future, and he needs something at the moment.
"Okay, beastie, now you're going to help me sort into groups and wrap all my paintings in my office, and then I'll see how much I agree to give you a ride." Aemond takes out his phone, quickly types an answer to the customer and looks at his watch. The time is 4:47 p.m., they can finish everything by the evening if they start now. But first.
"Aren't you still afraid of dogs? Especially Vhagar after that unpleasant incident?" Aemond asks and for the second time today, Lucerys quickly changes his face from joyful to anxious and frightened.
"Yes, it's true I'm not sure about the other dogs, BUT I'm afraid of Vhagar and I'll never stop. I still remember how she tried to bite me and Arrax," Luke says with fear and absolute confidence in his words.
"Your cat almost scratched out her eye when she was playing with him," and Aemond says this without accusations, just as a fact.
Luke straightened his back and quickly jumped off the motorcycle, walked up to his uncle and stood in front of him. "He didn't understand what she was doing and defended himself"
"Vhagar too. It's actually kind of funny." And he himself does not have a shadow of a smile on his face.
"Funny what?" Lucerys frowns and tilts his head, trying to catch his uncle's train of thought.
"The way animals look like their owners, nephew," Aemond leans forward a little towards Lucerys and points with his finger at his eyepatch, hiding an eye socket with a sapphire instead of an eye, there isn't a hint of a smile or a grin on his face. Lucerys doesn't find it funny at all.
"I've already apologized for your eye, uncle, I'm really sorry about this," Luke runs his gaze from the whole eye to the eye patch. "But my apologies won't give you back your eye and all the time you spent learning to see with one eye."
"That's right, nephew, a good answer, but I have one more question." The older did not budge and was still face to face with Lucerys, looking him straight in the eyes.
"Which one?"
"Why did you offer to look after Vhagar if you're afraid of her? How would you do it if I agreed and asked you to do it?" He narrowed his eye and seemed to be trying to find the answer himself in the eyes of the boy opposite.
"Honestly, I don't know, but I would have come up with something, in the end I blurted it out myself without really thinking, for me at that time your permission to ride was my priority," Luke answers as honestly as he can under this prickly and gaze of his uncle.
"Went to such a trick without assessing all the risks, perhaps I overestimated you as a smart boy. Although I'll give you your due, you're still as manipulative as I remember you," Aemond grins, finally thinks Lucerys and exhales when the older straightens up and walks out of the garage. "We'd better hurry up with the cleaning of the paintings so that your trip isn't postponed to another day. I won't be able to stand your presence in my life for so long."
Luke looks at his back and thinks that before those unfortunate incidents with the eye and the dog, they could feel comfortable in each other's presence, he misses these times. Inhaling deeply and exhaling, Lucerys catches up with Aemond at a fast pace.