This is a fill for the seventh day of Game of Ships of Ice and Fire Challenge - prompt: Huddling for Warmth
English is not my first language, so I apologize for any mistakes
Also, I don't own ASOIAF.
I hope you enjoy!
If eight years ago, someone had told him he would be here, he would tell you right away that you were obviously lying, that he would be in the Stormlands or King's Landing, still chasing skirts, not living in the freaking North. But now he wouldn't change a damn thing, because it was all of that shit that led him here.
It all started in the Eyrie, when he was attending Professor Arryn's class and fell asleep – in his defence he had slept less than three hours the night before – and snoring quite loud (Lya still insists that she should sleep with ear plugs) he was bound to call the teacher's attention to himself, so a shy boy that sat on the third row (far enough so he wouldn't be asked questions but close enough to listen and take notes of everything), noticing that Mr. Arryn was about to call on Robert, the boy raised his hand and interrupted the class to ask a complicated question, with the teacher distracted someone woke him up.
Less than two weeks later, someone told him that if it wasn't for the shy northern boy he would have had been kicked out of class, so he went to thank him and a friendship was formed – soon they were roommates.
Nothing was the same since then, the weird pair became inseparable (Lya still says she can't marry me, because I'm already married to Ned) and soon influenced each other – Robert was sure he was the one who got Ned to land his first date with Cat, the southern redhead beauty.
Ned and Robert were roommates until the moment Ned proposed to Catelyn and they moved in together, what happened to also be his last year of college (and Lyanna's freshmen year), so then not much changed – it wasn't like Lyanna wanted to hang out with her older brother, his girlfriend and his "boyfriend", until…
…January, there was still snow everywhere, and Robert had been under his blankets with a bottle of whisky so he could keep himself warm, too lazy to move and go get another blanket. Until he heard a knock on the door and yelled for them to go away, but from the other side he heard the voice of his best friend's little sister and he couldn't help but open the door.
On the other side was Lyanna with tears running down her face – that was the first time he ever saw her cry – and before he could ask if she was looking for Ned, she fell in his arms and whispered I'm pregnant, she only told him that, she didn't talk more about that the entire night, just climbed under the covers with him, and he brought her close while he found something for them to watch on the computer.
Two weeks later there she was again, the snow still falling outside and his room still freezing, this time she didn't cry but quickly entered, and huddle under his covers without permission, not that he would ever deny it, and she told him everything – he remembered her words like it was yesterday.
"He told me he wanted to keep the baby."
"That's good." Robert had said, trying to be supportive even if he hated the guy's guts.
"No… He told me "he" wanted to keep the baby. He wants full custody."
"What?!" That was probably the first time something like this happened, Robert had thought, and quickly had figured out he couldn't be a student. "Who's he, Lya?"
"Please don't be mad." Oh… But he had been… and he had been pretty sure that when Lyanna finally told Brandon, who obviously would try to kill the bastard, he would go with him. "It's Professor Rhaegar."
"What?!" He had yelled in fury, and had felt Lyanna trying to push away from him, not wanting to scare her even more; he had tried to calm himself, so he had reached for the bottle of whisky he had kept in the drawer of his bedside table, and had taken a sip. "He took advantage of you."
"No, he didn't…" But then she had looked down and he had known there was something more to the story.
"What did he do, Lya?"
"He messed with my pill. He wanted me to get pregnant." What kind of creep does that? – Robert had thought – that was just so messed up.
"Fuck… Are you going to fight him?"
"I want to, Robert. I want to. But I need a lawyer, a good one, because he's rich." His parents had left Robert some money when they died, he could lend it.
"I have money."
"Thank you, you're sweet." She had said, kissing his bearded cheek.
She ended up not needing his money, just his support, Robert stayed by her side for the next couple of months, telling her family hadn't been as hard as she thought (especially because Ned's fiancée was pregnant as well) but Brandon had still wanted to kill the bastard – having actually driven to the Targaryen's mansion but being stopped by the security guards and held over night.
The court case was awful, Lyanna was constantly stressed, and for awhile they actually thought they would lose. Rhaegar had the money, was the responsible adult with a stable job, he was a good father to other two kids and had a wife who loved him (Robert wondered how she could stay by his side during all of this – but he learned one thing, that woman, Elia Martell, was one of the strongest he knew); so Lyanna pleaded she had her father's support, and while she confirmed that she had never known much about children but… Nobody knows when they have their first kid or even the second or third one, and I'll make mistakes, but I'll give my best and I'll fix my mistakes. I'll raise my son the best I know how. And the thing is it's not just me, I have my family and my friends to help me. I want this child, I want him more than anything else. She had the told the jury and Robert knew this had convinced them, because it had convinced himself – the next morning he asked a private inspector to find his daughter, they found her in foster care, where her mother left her, knowing she just couldn't give her everything she deserved, so Robert took her home.
Trying to take care of Mya wasn't easy in the beginning; she was too stubborn for a three year old – she was too much like him – and he was going crazy, gratefully she was at pre-school during the day. At home things got better with time, and there they were, colouring a book when Ned called him saying Lyanna's water broke.
It hadn't been easy, she was there for a day before little Jon was born, and soon after she had to be led to emergency surgery, her family and Robert were pacing through the waiting room – Brandon stopped every doctor to ask for news – while Catelyn, who also was in the end of her pregnancy and could barely walk, sat and played with Mya, trying to make the young girl feel better. Neither of them had ever been more relieved when she finally came out of surgery, the doctors told them there were a few problems with the birth and that they weren't sure if she could have any more kids, at least for a few years.
They sat with her until she woke up; they took turns looking and holding Jon – Catelyn had tears in her eyes, she said the baby looked so much like Ned and Brandon, that maybe the little boy in her belly looked the same (less than a week after, they found out, the little boy had the Tully look, in a much uncomplicated birth).
She stayed in the hospital for the next two weeks – Catelyn even went home before her – but neither of them wanted Lyanna to be alone, still not being in her best shape, with Ned and Cat being busy with little Robb and all the others living away from college, Robert invited her to say with him and Mya.
Those few weeks were good, they had dinner together most nights, they had fun, after they putted the kids to sleep, they would play videogames the entire night, before retiring to his bed to sleep – just sleep – until the night she kissed him, it changed everything, it led him here, to today.
It had been four years since those first days living together, it was mid-January and Robert was living in Winterfell, working in a small business he started with Ned, he was happy, mostly, today not so much, he was freezing, they had turned on every heater in the room and it didn't make a difference.
Lyanna was shaking next to him (Lyanna – Lyanna Stark – who normally is never cold), she had two pants on and two sweatshirts plus one of Robert's yellow woollen sweaters with a big black stag (that truly had belong to his father, having been made by his wife – Robert's mother), the sweater stopped by Lyanna's mid-thigh and the sleeves covered her hands too.
"Why did we leave the bathtub?" He heard Lyanna whisper to his chest; he wished they hadn't either, the bathroom was so warm, and it felt so good to have her naked body against his under the warm water filled with bubbles.
"Because you have to work tomorrow, and you need your sleep." He said, while she pouted.
"I don't wanna… It's cold outside." She muttered, trying to get closer to him, while he hugged her closer. "You know what would be good. If we drank some rum."
"You go…" Robert said.
"Why me?!" Lyanna asked with her annoyed voice, but still not moving from his arms.
"You're a northerner, you're better in the cold than me."
"But it was you, and your southern blood, that's making me cold."
"That's doesn't make sense, Lya. Now if you tell me it was my sperm… that will make sense, we both know it has been inside you enough times." He said with a smirk, winning him a kick on the shins and a punch in the chest.
"Asshole…" She muttered, before they heard a knock in the door. "Come in." She said, they looked at the door, and Robert looked at his family smiling and pulling Lyanna closer.
Seven year old Mya walked in the room, holding Jon's hand, who said.
"It's cold, mama."
"Oh… come here." Lyanna pushed herself away from Robert and picked up Jon, her son had two pyjamas on himself and was curled in a blanket his aunt Catelyn had sewn for him, and pulled him between her and Robert, who had left the bed to look for something Mya asked for.
"I want a sweater like Lya's, dad." She said, while she followed her dad to the closet, he looked for awhile but couldn't find any of his mother made, and took one of his college sweaters.
"Mya, what about this one?" He showed her one, with the logo of the Eyrie University.
"But it isn't like Lya's." Robert picked her up, so he could look her in the eyes.
"Oh… This one is better; do you know where it comes from?"
"Where?"
"Do you remember when we went rock climbing?" She nodded happily. "And do you know that big building I told you me and your Uncle Ned went to school together?" She nodded again. "It's from there."
"Will I go there someday too?"
"Sure." He said, putting her on the bed, and throwing the sweater over her head.
"It smells like you, daddy." She said.
"Bad, I take it." Lyanna said, pushing Mya down, and Robert smiled at his girlfriend tickling his daughter.
"Hey!" Robert exclaimed, joining them on the bed, pulling the covers over the four of them, before starting to tickle Lyanna. "Take that back!"
"Never!" She said between giggles. "Jon, help me!" But the kid shook his head, half a sleep.
Robert pulled her closer, trying not to squeeze Jon who lied between them, and kissed her lips, making Mya say.
"Eww… That's gross…"
"I hope you think so forever." He told her pulling her from Lyanna's grasp, moving her between them as well, letting her calm down, before quickly falling asleep as well.
Lyanna was smiling and looking at the children, while Robert did the same.
"Did you ever think we would end up here?" She asked.
"Of course not, but I wouldn't change it for the world." He wouldn't change it for his drinking days, or the nights where he found himself waking up with three girls in his bed but not have remembrance of anything that end down; he liked this life, it wasn't boring as he feared, Lyanna was always a challenge, so was raising two kids (he didn't give a crap that Jon wasn't his, he did give a crap about how his asshole of a father was always threatening to sue for full custody again, even if they already gave him visiting rights) and if they were in the mood to party, he always knew Ned and Cat would take the kids for the night, and Lya and he would go all out – really Lyanna was just out of college, she knew the right parties. "Okay, maybe I would change a few things. Like buying a house with central heating." He said when another chill went through his body.
"Maybe we should, with a backyard too and a few more bedrooms." She said, moving closer to him so she could take his hand easily over the children and took it to her belly, and looked to his eyes.
He, understanding what she meant, squashed the children so he could take her lips in his and kissed her passionately, when he finally pulled away, he whispered into her ear "The next time I have you alone I'm going to fuck you so hard."
"I wait patiently for it." She said, while Robert lay back on his side of the bed, hugging his daughter, turning sideways.
"That doesn't hurt the baby, right?!" He asked with a worried face – he wouldn't survive without sex for nine months.
"Of course not. I love you, jackass." She said with her sweetest voice, closing her eyes, still holding his hand, and surrounded by people she loves, she felt far less cold.
"I love you too, she-wolf."