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Cregan Stark was nothing like Jacaerys pictured him to be but at the same time exactly what he expected.
When he arrived at Winterfell, his expectation was a stony faced man with heavy shoulders from the enormous responsibility of being warden of the North, someone with no time or regard for nonsense and devoted to his people. Above all that, even with what little Jacaerys knew of him, he expected someone loyal and true.
And he was. He was all that.
But he was also kind and fun and surprisingly immature about certain things like the few times Jacaerys managed to win anything. A fight. A bet. An argument.
He was young and it was a youth that echoed Jace’s own. So it was easy to talk, to understand, to tease.
That morning, Jace was feeling cheerful and Cregan in contrast was in a sour mood and enough that people avoided him as he walked by. But Jacaerys had only known Lord Stark for a handful of days and he had no reason to fear him. He was a prince after all and the only person he bowed to was his Queen. This also meant he was free to trail after Cregan and not a thing the man did could stop him from doing so.
When they reached the Godswood, where Jace had taken to accompany Cregan as he paid his respects to his Gods, Cregan seemed calmer and Jace saw it as his perfect opportunity.
“What makes you so moody, my Lord?” Jace asked and all he got in response was a half-hearted grunt. “Is it that you could not find sleep yesterday because of this frigid air you call summer? Or are you worried that Vermax is getting too comfortable in your crypts?”
“No.”
“It’s definitely your search for a new wife then.”
Cregan turned his head towards him and Jace knew he was right. “How do you know about that?”
“No matter the castle or land, the people talk and I know to listen.”
“So you entertain hearsay?”
“Is it hearsay if it’s a fact? Don’t deny it,” Jace said and sat down by the water’s edge, pulling Cregan down with him. “Is it a bad thing? To marry again?”
“Not bad,” Cregan replied. “Necessary, and time consuming.” And if Jace had learned anything about this man, it was that he valued time as highly as any other resource.
“Finding a bride or being married?”
“Both, but you only have to worry about one. You already have a bride waiting on Dragonstone.”
Jacaerys smiled at him only half-heartedly. It was the best outcome he could have hoped for. He liked Baela, trusted her, but he knew it would be a marriage not unlike every other marriage before – one out of duty, but never love. He only hoped that he and Baela could achieve what his parents could not. He prayed for it, even though the gods he prayed to would not be the ones blessing his union to Baela when it happened, which at this point of the war was all so uncertain. He told Cregan about the postponement of his marriage but not about his worries, they were far too incriminating and he really did like Cregan Stark. He wanted them to be allies until the end of their days. He also told Cregan it was expected of him and Baela to marry under the Seven, and it was fine by him. He liked to imagine what a Valyrian ceremony would be like, of course, it was just that while he imagined that it was never Baela he pictured.
And that last thing, unfortunately, slipped from Jace’s lips like a confession.
“Our weddings are here in the Godswood,” Cregan told him when Jace asked, desperate for a distraction from his slip up, but now there was a spark in the lord’s eye. “Right here, actually.”
“It’s beautiful,” Jace said, looking up at the blood-red leaves. “You must extend me an invitation. I’m staying in the castle, of course.”
“I’d be honored to host you, time and time again.”
And there it was, what made Jacaerys trust Cregan from the very first moment. His honesty, his loyalty. And Jace should not trust himself, not when this man made him feel things he had thought would never come to him, and all within a few days. It was too late, though. When Jacaerys pictured a Valyrian wedding like he’d witnessed when Mother married Daemon, it was Cregan he saw cutting his lip.
“You’re kind, Lord Stark,” was all Jace could think to say as he chased away the scenarios his head conjured up.
It was getting colder, and the furs Cregan had given him were still not enough for Jace to get used to the rapidly changing weather up here. And then there was another fur cloak around his shoulders, warm from the previous body that wore it. Cregan had come closer and hovered over him on his knees to secure the cloak.
“Can’t have the heir to the Iron Throne freezing on my watch,” Cregan said with a smug smile, that spark remained in his eye and it shone brighter than before. And it was a nice thing, to see him all cheered up again after such a day. “One more thing, my prince.” He tugged Jacaerys forward by the same cloak he’d put on him just seconds before and kissed him. With a hand still bunched in the fur and the other in Jace’s curls, Lord Stark kissed in the same manner he did everything else – with intent. It was immediate and time consuming and Jace didn’t have time or space for hesitation, for questions. He just parted his lips to let it go deeper, to let it claim him, and he clung to Cregan, gave in completely to him.
When they pulled apart, Cregan gave him another kindness. “Aegon the Conqueror had two wives. Can you think of a reason you’re any different and can’t have two spouses?” He placed a single kiss on Jacaerys' cheek.
And yes, he could think of differences. Jacaerys had not conquered anything, he was not a king yet and (if he was understanding this correctly) his would-be spouse was another man and not a Targaryen. He could also think of things he and Aegon the Conqueror had in common, and it was that he did not care once given the chance to have this and no one would ever know.
“Is it not time consuming then?”
“Not this, no. If you are agreeable.”
“It’ll be a ceremony under my Gods and yours,” Jacaerys replied and he felt breathless. “We’ll need a blade and a goblet. And you’ve already cloaked me.”
They would tell the realm of the pact they forged by an oath of blood, of how they promised to join their lines together, and that was all true.
And yet.