Author's Note: This chapter is also featured in The Lion and The Falcon but from a different POV.

Stairs, so many stairs. All the way up to the clouds. Tyrion sighed as he looked at them. Certainly not made to be traversed by a man with short legs.

The last time he was here he at least didn't have to walk up those stairs. That was the good thing about being held prisoner, you got carried up the stairs. His other memories of the Eyrie weren't as pleasant. But at least he had escaped being pushed out that damn hole in the floor by that spoiled brat of a boy who now called himself lord.

Hopefully, he would be as lucky this time.

Another sigh, then he started his journey up the stairs. One step at a time.

***

As he waited for his cousin to arrive Tyrion stood glancing down the moon door. Pondering how painful his death would have been if Robin Arryn had got his way, and he had been thrown out through it.

Tyrek sure was taking his sweet time arriving at the hall. But the boy was crippled so he probably should have patience with him.

He did feel sorry for what had happened to Tyrek. Of course, he did. He blamed himself.

He should have protected Tyrek. After all, he was all House Lannister had left. The only remaining male heir. Because Tyrion did not trust his own ability to produce heirs. He suspected that his physical condition prevented him from doing so. Since he, despite having had relations with many women, didn't have any known bastards. And even if he was able to produce children he worried they would look like him.

But Tyrek was everything a Lannister should be. Young, pretty, tall, charming, smart. And hopefully very fertile.

So Tyrion had given him everything. The castle, the title, a pretty wife. Everything needed for Tyrek to make their house rise again.

Then came Highgarden. Tyrek got trapped. He almost died. He lost most of his armies. He lost his leg.

And then he lost the castle.

Their house was now truly on its last leg. Pun intended.

Suddenly the door to the hall swung open and there he stood. Lord Tyrek Lannister, accompanied by Lord Robin Arryn.

It never ceased to amaze Tyrion how much his cousin looked like his own brother Jaime.

Maybe that's why he had saved him. Maybe that's why he had given him everything. He had done it for Jaime.

The crutches, and the absence of a left leg from the knee down, was hard not to notice. It was a bit jarring to see his cousin like this, even though Tyrion knew what had happened to him. To see such a young and handsome man irrevocably damaged.

Their eyes met. Tyrion saw hesitation and fear. Tyrek looked like he wanted to run away around. He averted his gaze and stopped in his tracks.

A deep breath. A pat on the hand by Robin. A whisper of encouragement. Then he looked up again. Eyes now filled with hatred and determination. And he continued forward on his crutches.

Hopefully, he wouldn't use those crutches to push Tyrion down the moon door. Tyrion moved to the side slightly so he wasn't perched right in front of the hole in the floor, just to be safe.

"Dear cousin," Tyrion said, trying to defuse the situation with a smile. "I figured I would find you here."

"Tyrion...." Tyrek replied, not smiling back. "How did you know I was here?"

"You weren't with your mother's family, or with your wife's family. So where else would you go? To the man who saved you of course."

Tyrion nodded towards Robin who stood at Tyrek's side. No one had ever thought that boy would amount to anything, but now he stood there as Lord of the Eyrie. Tall, healthy, and apparently about to become a father.

"That wasn't part of your plan, was it?" Tyrek said. "That Robin would save me. I was supposed to die at Highgarden. And now you're here to finish what you started. To ram a knife in my heart."

"You think I'm here to kill you?" Tyrion said with a light chuckle. "Even if I tried I don't think I could."

The thought of him trying to kill his cousin amused him. Even if he did want Tyrek dead, which he didn't, he wouldn't even ponder doing the deed himself.

"I'm a cripple, thanks to you," Tyrek said, looking down towards his missing leg. "I wouldn't be that hard to kill."

"I might still have both legs, but they're short as a dog's," Tyrion replied. "I wouldn't be able to reach your heart with a knife, dear cousin. And besides Lord Arryn is standing right next to you, I'm sure he would save you again."

Robin's hand touched Tyrek's again. It was curious how intimate they were with each other. More than he would expect from friends.

"I would," Robin said. "You're still a bad little man, and I can still make you fly. I would enjoy it."

Dammit, why was that boy still so obsessed with the hole in the floor? And why was he so protective of Tyrek?

"And I had hoped you would have forgotten about my last visit here, Lord Arryn, " Tyrion replied. "After all you were so much smaller then. Shorter than me even. I wish I would have hit a growth spurt in the same way as you."

He had hoped to talk to Tyrek alone but there seemed to be no opportunity for that. Robin wasn't leaving.

And his jokes and friendly demeanor didn't seem to make either of the boys less hostile towards him.

"I remember you coming here," Robin said. "And I still have the sky cells. I could place you there again if I don't throw you out the moon door. If you hurt or threaten Tyrek in any way I will."

So protective. It was curious. It made him wonder exactly what kind of relationship Tyrek and Robin had.

"I'm not here to hurt anyone," he said. "I'm here to make amends, dear cousin. I want to set things right."

"Well it's too late for that, isn't it?" Tyrek replied. "It's not like you can give me my leg back. So you can't set things right."

Of course, he was right. But Tyrion needed Tyrek to know the truth about what had happened.

"No, I can't. I know that," he said, taking a step closer to his cousin, hoping that perhaps he would take his guard down a bit. "Can we maybe sit down for a bit? It must be hard for you to stand on those crutches."

"I'm good standing," Tyrek said, readjusting his stance on the crutches. "I might be crippled, but I'm not weak."

"I know you're not weak, Tyrek. I was just hoping to get on eye level with you to tell my side of the story. I want to tell you what actually happened."

He took another step closer to his cousin. Tyrek didn't back off, but he glared suspiciously at his cousin.

"I know what happened," he said in a cold tone. "I got trapped on a battlefield because the king's men left me behind. I had to fight against a force twice the size of my own. I was covered in blood. I had screams of dying men ringing in my ears. I had a sword bury itself so deep into my leg that bone shards were sticking out. I would've died if Robin hadn't come and let me surrender. I was in excruciating pain for days while they transported me back to Casterly Rock. I screamed until I passed out when they sawed my leg off. And now I'm stuck hobbling around on crutches for the rest of my life. That's what happened to me. I don't care what you think happened. Whatever you did, you didn't stop it."

While Tyrek talked he gestured with his crutches. He had presence and charisma. He was a Lannister. Even when on crutches.

And he looked so much like Jaime when he spoke.

"I'm sorry..." Tyrion said."I never meant for any of that to happen. I didn't mean for you to be left on that battlefield. I didn't mean for you to get hurt."

"I don't care if you're sorry," Tyrek snapped. "You weren't there. You weren't scared. You weren't hurting. I was! While you were safe and sound in the capital."

There were tears and fury in Tyrek's eyes as he spoke.

Robin once again put his hand on top of Tyrek's hand, which clutched the crutch handle, seemingly trying to calm him down a bit.

"That sounds horrible," Tyrion said, taking one more step towards Tyrek. "I wish I could have prevented it, but I couldn't. When I found out it was too late."

"If you couldn't prevent it, of what use are you to me?" Tyrek replied. "Why should I trust you?"

Tyrion took another step closer to Tyrek. Close enough to touch him. He slowly raised his hand towards Tyrek's other hand, the one Robin wasn't already holding on to.

"I promise I won't hurt you," he said. "And I'm truly sorry for what happened."

He kept reaching out his hand. Tyrek didn't flinch or move. Although Robin looked like he was ready to kick him out the moon door at any moment.

Despite that Tyrion put his hand on top of Tyrek's. Patting it lightly.

Robin luckily wasn't in a kicky mood.

"I was tricked too," he said. "The king tricked us both. I think he wanted you not to trust me. To take power from me."

"And why should I believe that?" Tyrek said, his voice sounding softer than before.

"Because I'm your family. Why would I want you to get hurt? I've been a cripple my whole life. I would never wish that faith on you."

"If I died you would get the title and castle."

"I don't want the title and the castle. I gave them to you. Why would I try to take them? You are a far better Lannister than I am. You're handsome, smart, and kind. I was only ever smart, but I'm starting to think I'm not even that anymore."

"I'm not handsome anymore. I'm a damn cripple."

Tyrion had to smile a bit at that statement. His cousin was so naive and innocent. So unaware of the effects he could have on people.

"If you think you are less handsome because of your crutches you're a fool, Tyrek. Women, and men if that's what you want, love a wounded soldier. And just look at yourself, boy. You can't think that you're not pretty."

Finally a hint of a smile on the boy's lips.

"I guess perhaps I'm still a bit pretty," Tyrek said. "My wife says so all the time."

"You should listen to your wife," Tyrion replied. "She's a wise woman."

"Wiser than me. Look where my wits got me, I lost my castle and I'm hiding out here."

"You lost your castle because you lost your armies. That wasn't your fault, Tyrek. That was my fault."

Tyrek nodded and looked down towards Tyrion. Then he looked up again, a determined look in his eyes.

"I will take it back," he said. "Don't think I've given up."

"I can help you, Tyrek," Tyrion said. "That's why I came here. To offer my support."

"I don't want your help, Tyrion. I'm won't follow anyone else's order any longer. That only brought me misfortune. I will only follow myself. And I will take Casterly Rock back."

"How are you going to do that? You got no armies, no experience in politics, and well... you are crippled."

"It's not for you to know. I don't trust you. You are controlled by the king. And the king apparently wants to harm me. So I can't trust you, even if I would want to. I do believe your intentions are good, but that doesn't matter if those intentions are corrupted."

"I don't believe in the king anymore. I stopped believing in him after Highgarden. After what happened to you."

"But you still serve him. He still controls you."

"Because I have nowhere else to go. No one trusts me."

"With good reason. But you need to trust me, Tyrion. I need you to trust that I will do what I've promised to do. Without your help. I will take back that castle, I will make our house rise again. I will have heirs. I know it's all on me now, and I will do what I need to do. You gave me everything I have and I'm thankful for that. And you won't regret giving it to me."

"I do trust you, Tyrek. And I've never regretted what I gave you. But it's my fault you're in the position you're in."

"It is your fault. But I don't need you. Because how can I trust that you won't cause me to lose anything else? I've already lost too much. I can't lose anything else."

Everything Tyrion had done. Everything he had plotted. It had brought him here. But was here really where he wanted to be?

He had thought he could set things right. But he couldn't. The only thing he could do was walk away. House Lannister wasn't on his shoulders anymore. It was on Tyrek's shoulders, and Tyrek would find a way. He had to believe that.

The way to set things right wasn't by further interference, it was by stopping his interference.

He nodded. "Then I will go," he said. "I will trust you. Whole-heartedly. I've plotted and schemed my whole life. Clawed myself to the top. And I thought... I thought I could help you. But I realize now I can't. You don't need me."

"I don't," Tyrek said. "I just need you to trust me. Let me do what I need. Don't intervene. And House Lannister will rise again."

"I believe it will. I believe you will make it so. And I will walk away."

Tyrek moved his right hand from the crutch handle and stretched it towards Tyrion. They took each other's hands.

"Thank you," Tyrek said. "We can sit down now if you like. So we can talk eye to eye. Not because I can't stand..."

Then he hobbled over towards one of the benches around the moon door and sat down. He handed his crutches to Robin who put them away and then sat down next to him. Robin put one of his hands on Tyrek's leg in a defensive manner.

"I would like that," Tyrion said.

Finally, the boy had taken his guard down a bit. Tyrion walked over and jumped up on the bench as well. Now finally close enough to Tyrek to look him in the eyes. Proud emerald green eyes. Just like Jaime.

"I just wish you didn't hate me," Tyrion said. "You're the only family I got."

"I don't hate you, cousin," Tyrek replied, putting his hand on Tyrion's shoulder. "I do believe you when you say you didn't mean for any of this to happen. But it did happen and therefore I can't trust you."

"Then I didn't come here in vain. That's all I really wanted to know. That I haven't completely alienated the only family I have left."

"You haven't. You still have me. I'm still your family, and you are mine. It's only us left now. You, me, and Janei."

"Janei... I almost forgot about her. And guess that's what she wants. To not be a part of any of this."

Somehow Janei had escaped all the schemes and plans of House Lannister. After her father Kevan and her brothers died in the capital she and her mother had escaped to the seat of her mother's family, House Swift. And as far as Tyrion knew that's where she still was. But she was still a Lannister.

"And I would never force her to," Tyrek said, looking down at the floor slightly.

There was a weird look in his eyes. A hint of something. Something familiar to Tyrion. A scheme.

"But you will ask her to do something?"

"That's not for you to know. "

Janei must somehow be part of the plan for how to take back Casterly Rock. A marriage arrangement was in the works perhaps.

Tyrion just nodded, deciding not to pry further. It was better he didn't know. Because whatever he knew perhaps the king would find out as well.

"There's one more thing I need to tell both of you though," he said, looking over at Robin as well. "Something important for the future of the kingdom... Meera Reed or I guess she's Meera Baratheon now, she's the key to fighting him. Remember that."

"Fighting who?" Tyrek asked.

"The King, " Tyrion replied. "He's not good. I know this now. And he's not a man. Because he knows things no man would know."

"Why Meera?" Robin asked.

"There's something about her... he can't control her, he can't see her. She's the key. That's what I wanted you to know. If anything happens to me I need you to know that."

"What would happen to you?"

"Whatever he wants to happen to me... I'm already under his control. But you can still fight him."

"I'm a cripple, I can't fight anyone."

"Tyrek... look who you're talking to. I'm not a fighter either. But I've done what I can anyway, and so will you. You can fight him in your own way."

"You know he's right, Ty," Robin said. "You can still fight. You're still strong. You're stronger than me. And we'll fight together."

"You will all need to fight soon. No matter what. The kingdom will need you."

Tyrek and Robin nodded and took each other's hands. Always so affectionate and caring towards each other. It was almost cute.

"We'll do what we need," Tyrek said, a few blonde curls falling down over his eyes.

Tyrion nodded and smiled. Those curls looked so familiar.

"You know you look so much like him?" he asked.

"Jaime?" Tyrek said. "So I've been told. And I guess we met the same faith..."

"Yes, Jaime... Out of all of them, all the Lannisters who are now gone, he was the only one I truly cared about. And he was the only one who cared about me. He was everything I had once. Everything I could hold on to. And I see that when I look at you. He wasn't perfect, but he was kind to me when no one else was."

"He was kind to me too. After I came to the capital with uncle Kevan. I was training to be a knight but I was still too small and weak. Jaime saw me struggling and he helped me. He showed me how to hold a sword, how to stand, how to parry. I can't do any of those things anymore but I used to be good at it. That's why I was still alive when Robin came to Highgarden. Because Jaime taught me to fight."

"I'm glad he did. Because when I look at you it feels like he isn't completely gone. He lives through you. The good side of House Lannister lives in you. The side that's caring and kind. Not scheming and cunning. That's what we need, and that's why I will walk away. Because I'm not that. I'm not what House Lannister needs."

"I'm not sure I am either."

"That's why you are what we need. Because you're not arrogant, vain, and entitled. You don't assume you deserve anything, and that's why you deserve it."

Tyrion got up from the bench and stretched out his arm towards the still sitting Tyrek for an embrace. They held each other for a moment. Holding on to the only family they had left.

"Are you leaving?" Tyrek asked.

"I need to get back to the capital before the King realizes I've left," Tyrion said. "I've told you what I wanted to tell you. The rest is on you now."

"I'll do what I need," Tyrek said. "You can trust me."

Tyrion gave Tyrek one more look before he left.

One more look at those blonde curls and green eyes. One more look at everything that remained of his family. One more look at the boy who reminded him so much of everything he had lost.

From afar he really was the spitting image of Jaime.

Then Tyrion turned around and left. He had done what he came for. He had made amends, and he had delivered a crucial message.

And that message would be the last thing Tyrion ever told his cousin.

Author's Note: If you want to read this scene from Tyrek's POV, go to The Lion and The Falcon. It features scenes of what he does before and after Tyrion arrives. It will also tell you more about what his and Robin's relationship status is exactly :) (Tyrion is kinda wondering this too...)