Early morrow dew clung to the leaves belonging to the forest that surrounded the small cabin in the Riverlands.

He would've preferred to take Jon further away — Essos, perhaps, were no one would ever risk recognizing any of them, but most people of the smallfolk did not wander into most forests, nevertheless would they be able to tell apart the illegitimate son of Rhaegar and Lyanna.

It was what they could do with, the small babe so young he could do nothing but sleep most nights. He was a quiet boy, that being something Arthur was thankful for, though when he did cry... well, at least he had you.

Your presence helped far more than Arthur ever could say in words. The man himself wasn't that good in speaking in the first place, or at all, for he had been raised to serve with actions over the things that could spill from his tongue.

Flowers whenever he went out to hunt rabbits for supper; he had a preference for bringing you lavender, claiming it was because it looked good on you, but it was mostly due to his own wish to see you in the colors of his house.

Sometimes, he'd venture further than he ever intended to. The villages weren't that far away. There were times he'd come back hiding away a piece of jewelry, only to present it to you after you were done getting Jon to sleep with a rare smile on his face.

The truth was... Arthur loved you, had done so for a long time, and the fact that you were there, with him and with Jon only made him wish for a family.

That, in itself, made him doubt everything he had sworn in his life.

If Jon ever knew of his true parentage and decided to retake the Iron Throne, would Arthur be forced to bend the knee and take his vows once more? He hated thinking of it at all in the first place, because that could only mean he'd be apart from you.

Which was why he found himself laying awake in the morrow, staring at your profile as you slept, and wondered, for a simple moment, what it would be like to actually live a life with you. Have a family with you.