Hi everybody !

Here's a small OS : I had the idea and well, 'had to write it off of my mind. It's a Modern!AU, set at the end of season two. Tyrion is part of the Lannister Publishings and Sansa is a not so good writer. I really wanted to make something more romance-y but things slipped and here we are.

You can either read it as a Sansa x Tyrion or as a SanSan. Or as both. Your choice. It's more angst than romance.

As you may know now, I'm French so I had to write all the dialogs (I used the "-" as we do in French…) and I have actually no beta. So, if a good soul volunteers I would be really grateful. The burnt eyes of the readers may as well appreciate the gesture.

I do hope you enjoy this and please, let me know !

Yours,

AO.

"Well, this is rubbish" Tywin said firmly, not even touching the manuscript before him.

Nobody could really think of anything to say to defend the new book that had been submitted a month ago. The Lannister Publishers meeting took place once a month where they discussed important matters such as books to be published or not. They only discussed books they did not agree on. They were a huge firm and had other matters to attend to than discussing why this book would win the heart of everybody. Strangely, they did agree on some books.

But whether they liked it or not was not the biggest problem. The writer was.

Sansa Stark just submitted her first novel to the Lannister Publishers. And it was rubbish.

"We can't not publish this" reminded Cersei. "We still need the Stark's funds in order to rescue the Baratheon Company"

Indeed, since the death of Cersei's husband, the entire railroad company held by Robert was now in the hands of the Lannister daughter, even if her son was officially the CEO. The Baratheon Company was a mess and was indebted towards the Stark at least as much as it was to the Lannister.

"I wanted to bang her to congratulate her !" whined Joeffrey with his fancy sunglasses indoors.

Even Jaime couldn't help but frowning in distaste. Tywin only remained silent to prevent him from doing something stupid with his new power, like, breaking the partnership between the Baratheon and the Lannister.

"There is a certain poetry" finally said Tyrion after a silence. "We could ask for some changes. We are not outwardly refusing to publish it but we are not offering this to our readers either. "

"Yeah and who will list her all the things that are to be changed ? There's a lot" asked Tywin, looking at his son with a mocking glance.

"I think everyone got better things to do" stated Jaime, looking at his fancy IPhone.

"Yes, Tyrion is quite busy with whores and we have a publishing house to run" agreed Tywin.

Joeffrey snickered and Tyrion did his best not to roll his eyes. Tywin looked right in his eyes. Tyrion knew that look : it was the look of a challenge he dared Tyrion to take. Tyrion was no coward. He held his father's eyes and finally nodded with a sigh :

"Alright, alright. I'll take it. I'm going to send her a e-mail to tell her what's wrong…"

"Great. Now, this matter is settled" started Tywin "How is this campaign for Lancel's new book…"

Lancel was only published because he was a Lannister. Even Sansa's novel was better than his.

"I honestly don't know what am I going to do" said Tyrion, defeated, drinking his beer as if he was a man dying of thirst.

"Come on, it's not the first time you have a date" laughed Bronn, sipping his own beer, leaning on the bar.

"I usually pay the women I date. I don't think this counts. And it's not a date."

"So why are you so nervous about ?"

"Oh, nothing, really, I'm only going to meet to most beautiful eighteen-year-old daughter of Ned Stark on which my sister depends to save her cunt of a son who also happens to be on the cover of the Tyrell's fashion magazine in order to tell her how her book sucks. How, and did I mention I was… who I was ?"

"Well… If she was truly disgusted by you, she would have asked for a date"

"I strongly suspect the influence of the Tyrells. They dream of throwing the Lannister Publishing down to replace it with their own one. They can't have the rights of this novel. We have to make it readable."

"I couldn't even go beyond the first page. It is quite hopeless."

"It is not so bad, really. She… She has some talent. She is really poetic. She only closes herself in romance, in the codes she read in other novels. I think she knows she has that talent but she is afraid to show it."

"Then why trying to publish her novel ?"

"I don't know… Maybe she wants to be more than a beautiful face ?"

"Wait… Did you do any background research on her ?"

"Just the usual. Nothing too serious. My dad already knew everything. Do you think red isn't a bit too much ?" Tyrion asked, looking at his jacket.

"I liked the dark one better" nodded Bronn.

"Pod' you didn't say a word since we started : what do you think ?"

The young man tried to hide himself behind his beer but found he was too big for the bottle. So, he finally managed to say :

"I think the dark one is more befitting but you should keep something bright and red to enhance your Lannister side. Like a pocket handkerchief."

"Off course Podrick. You're right. Thank you ! I'll go change."

" You better hurry, you have twenty minute before you're late !" called Bronn.

Tyrion arrived on time thanks to some miracle and Bronn's driving.

The café was calm and the few clients were chatting in huge sofas, slipping their drinks. Tyrion ordered a dark expresso to face the fearsome "cutest girl becoming a woman of the year" according to the 'Strong Rose' magazine. Bronn and Podrick soon pointed her to him : she was at a table in the back. It was a quiet place, far from the glass where she wouldn't draw unwanted attention. It was surprising, considering how much Margaery and her liked the paparazzis when they were out in clubs. She must be ashamed of being seen with him, surely. Tyrion added a milk chocolate and nuts muffin and a white chocolate and berries one to his command. It was the least he could do for her patience.

He left his two friends with his credit card (bad idea, but he just wanted peace while he affronted the "promising new model" sitting in a corner, waiting for him) She was reading something, her drink half-forgotten.

Then, Tyrion saw his fears come true : she was not the swallow spoiled daughter he thought she was. She wasn't drinking something sweet or fruity or anything fancy but a large cappuccino with only a touch of chocolate on top. No cream, no caramel, a simple cappuccino. She wasn't doing theatrics despite her studied attire. She was even wearing glasses ! Glasses ! They were fancy and tasteful no doubt but she wasn't trying to impress anybody : she was nearly hiding in the corner of the café. He never saw her glasses in public or in magazines : she wasn't proud of them, it wasn't an accessory. She read so much she now needed glasses. He couldn't help but smile and tried to watch her in this rare unguarded moment.

She was sitting, her back right, her pose classy and perfect but less stiff, less studied. She wasn't the beautiful girl Margy exhibited like a Tyrell prize, she was just Sansa. Her left hand hold the book firmly, preventing the pages from falling in the words she was currently reading and the right was playing with the corner of the page she was reading. Her short nails were painted in a pastel shade of pink which matched her blouse and her kitten heeled-shoes. Her pencil skirt was white and rid past her knees as she was seating. Her beautiful red hair was simply kept away by a pink rose hairclip. It was sweet but childish. Her tall slim figure destroyed her demure posture and her glasses showed her as a woman. Nearly.

Feeling she was watched, she rose her head and her eyes caught his. Big beautiful blue eyes. Tyrion hoped she wouldn't dare keep his gaze for too long : it was hard to speak with her eyes on his. Fortunately, Sansa soon found her persona again : she took her glasses off, looking in her handbag for some room to put them away and he only had a second to catch the title of the book she quickly put away too. It wasn't what he expected her to read, given the novel she gave them to publish.

"I didn't expect you reading Dune," he said frankly.

She seemed ashamed t be caught so off guard. He could see her blush prettily and babble a little while he sat in the chair in front of her, putting the muffins and his coffee between them.

"Well… Someone told me it was great… "she explained as if she were a child caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

"Following opinion, I see. What do you think of it ?"

Tyrion wanted to hear more of the Sansa he just discovered.

"I… uhm… It's cool… "

"What else ?"

"I never read something like this before." She took a deep breath, fighting the urge to hide behind clichés. "I mean, science-fiction without any machines in it ? It's rare. But the absence is primordial and without those… those machines, we can finally see the capacity of the human mind. It gives faith in the intelligence of mankind : we can achieve an advanced civilisation without them. Modern science-fiction is more about desperate times, desperate human beings fighting systems too strong for them. It's a refreshing change. But I didn't finish it yet and I'm kind of lost with the Bene Gesserit and the whole Sayyadina thing : won't Jessica hurt her baby if the drinks the spice ?"

"The Bene Gesserit order will remain a mystery until the end of Chapterhouse : Dune. And I can't tell you what happens next. You will have to find out. Did Margeary told you to read it ? 'Doesn't look like her kind of book."

"No, it wasn't actually… " Sansa lowered her eyes, playing with her cup, hoping he would drop the subject. He didn't.

"Someone in your family then, maybe… Jon ?"

"Jon is in Alaska with his team. He doesn't have Internet often enough to give me books advice," she replied and he saw she was amused by their new guessing game.

"Robb. I quite see reading something on honour and big families fighting each other…"

"He wouldn't make me read this : Duke Leto is not exactly an example of the benefices of honour…"

"You're right… Not in the family, then. I hardly picture someone so young reading Dune and I don't think your… lovely mother would make you read such books."

"You're right, they didn't. But, let's just…"

"Let's make a deal," he interrupted, his curiosity getting the better of him. "You tell me who made you read this and I tell you what really was said concerning your book in the Lannister Publishings head office."

It was rather dangerous and Sansa seemed to understand that by the way she was looking at him, frowning. She licked her lower lip in intense concentration and finally sat back in her chair, still looking at him, with a glint of mischief in her eyes which reminded him of Littlefinger or Margeary. Her new friends were quite fearsome predators. He had to be careful with this cute apprentice : she may be even more than he discovered she was.

"Okay… It's Sandor Clegane."

"Clegane ? My nephew's guard dog ?" he asked in disbelief, feeling his eyebrows rising.

"He's not a dog !" she defended him. "He thought I knew nothing of science-fiction, so he lent me this. He said he could give me the David Lynch movie when I finished… "

"Oh. He lends you things… Well…"

Tyrion wondered how many beers Bronn would want to pay him to know that vital piece of information about the fearsome Sandor Clegane lending books to the sweet little Sansa Stark. But the girl changed the subject after taking a sip of her drink :

"Qui pro quo… What did they really say about my book ?"

"They said it was rubbish", he said frankly.

Her pained look shouldn't hurt him so. It was true : her book wasn't as great as Dune. It was just a awkwardly written romance… But Tyrion knew there was more now he saw Sansa as more than a pretty face. She looked at her hands on the cup, letting the silence wrap around them both. She looked like she was sad but Tyrion could read past her now. He knew and wondered why he didn't see it before. It was quite obvious : she wasn't just sad, she was angry. Angry at something she couldn't tell. She had the same look when Joeffrey left her to propose Margeary. Her hand gripped her cup tighter but she got a grip on herself and looked up again, carefully avoiding his eyes. It pained him. No more intelligent nerdy Sansa.

"Then, I should… well… stop writing, probably. It was a mistake : I should have known. Petyr told me not to mix everything… I… have a photo shoot tomorrow…"

She stated to pick her things, ready to leave, but Tyrion couldn't let her go like this. It would break his heart, he didn't know why.

"Please", he started, a bit more louder than he intended, a bit more desperate. "I got you a white chocolate and berries muffin. I didn't know what you liked…"

She was already standing, her handbag in her hands, her jacket on her arm but she stopped, looking back at him, trying to decide what to do. She was still so young. She couldn't read all the feelings on his face so she didn't pity him. She should : he was really pathetic this instant.

"I like milk chocolate more", she answered, still not smiling.

"Then, have the milk chocolate one", he said, pushing the muffin towards the chair she sat on a moment before.

That seemed to settle it. She sat in front of him again and Tyrion took a mental note : Sansa Stark can be convinced with chocolate and puppy eyes. He smiled and started eating the other muffin. He found the white chocolate disgusting and ended pushing it aside, eating only the muffin and the berries. Sansa followed him, eating her muffin gracefully, with the plastic fork on the side of the plate. A plastic fork in her sweet white hands seemed out of place : only silver suited those northern hands. "You were right about the muffins. White chocolate is definitely not chocolate." He said to lighten the atmosphere.

"I know" she retorted, "People keep ordering me desserts with white chocolate. I keep hating it. It pretends it's chocolate but it's only the fat of the chocolate, it looses all the real taste. It's like… Hard butter."

He smirked at that : "Why don't you tell them you hate it ?"

"They expect me to like it. "

"That's not a reason. If you keep trying to indulge them, they are going to lower you to their standards. Trust me, it's not a place a pretty girl like you would want to go."

She laughed. Genuinely laughed. Quiet and crystal clear, it lit up her blue eyes, filling it with joy.

"You thought I would like it."

"My mistake. Will my lady forgive me ?"

"She may" she played. The mirth in her eyes stayed. If it was the look she gave them, it was no wonder most men would fall for her : Sandor giving her books, Petyr according her some time… He even wore red for her !

"For your novel…" he started. She looked elsewhere, trying to look bored but he knew better. "Most of it wasn't so good but I did accept to meet you so we could talk about it. Not everything is rubbish. You have a really interesting setting : everybody talks about King's Landing or Highgarden when it comes to espionage books. The choice of the North and Winterfell, both places you really know was great. You should keep that but stop romancing it : I highly doubt a winter storm is the ideal place to exchange government secrets. In fact, they shouldn't even hear each other with the winds and all…"

"Where do you suggest they do this, then ?"

"In a cabin rent for the occasion. It's small, protected, far enough in the country so nobody follows them. And Jonquil could find them thanks to the name of the reservation. A lot more realistic than the tracks in the snow three days after…"

"Yeah, you're right… But I wanted to describe a winter's storm…"

"You can do it when Jonquil is in the cabin. She can stay stuck in there because of the storm. Florian might even join her so you could remove that pool part. Gods, that part was awful and so unlike you… Did you even write it ? There were details…"

Sansa blushed very deeply and Tyrion couldn't help but find this very attractive. He himself blushed that night when he read that scene when Florian found Jonquil in the hotel's swimming pool and made love to her in the water by the moonlight. It was vulgar, improper, something a true lady like Sansa would never even think about..

"No, " she confessed, "Margaery wrote it for me. She said evey romance needed a love scene. For the audience…"

"Yeah, be a sweetheart and don't ever let her write books for you. She could write Fifty Shades of Grey but not Apnea. And don't concern yourself with the readers : we take care of that and every book we publish is read. Our job is to make people read your book, your job is to write that book. You see.." he trailed off, looking at her hands again, searching for the right words. "I think your problem is… you know you're not just that beautiful face others want to see in you. You're much more. The structure was nearly perfect : if you hadn't let Margeary write this scene, it would have be clear and well-balanced. But you listen to them. Maybe you don't even trust yourself with writing a good novel so you listen to the others even if they are definitely not writers. Your mistake is that you want to please the others before doing what you truly believe in."

There was a pause. Tyrion wished she would look at him but she seemed… overwhelmed. He didn't even know if she understood what he was saying. She was eighteen, she was pretty, she may even only want to please others.

But he didn't think so and he knew he was clever. Petyr, the Tyrells and the others, they only wanted a pretty girl. For Tyrion, pretty was fine, but he saw pretty girls everyday (even when they were not as pretty as Sansa) he wanted to see more of the clever Sansa. Sansa the really good writer, Sansa the clever girl too shy to tell people she was more than a lovely face.

"I think you should re-read your novel and be honest with yourself. Write the book you really wanted to write, even if it's only for yourself."

"How could I do that ? I couldn't the first time…They will see I changed what they wanted me to write…"

"Maybe you should try another persona" Tyrion said, finishing his expresso.

"So, this book was great. It think we should publish it, no doubt, but I think I already read it somewhere…" said Cersei three months later.

"I agree," said Tywin, "If the writer copied another book, we will be in trouble if we publish it."

"It's actually the second version of a shitty novel we already read and didn't publish" answered Tyrion as off-handedly as he could, but in his head, he was doing a victory dance. "She re-wrote it better."

"Ok, then, Cersei, thanks for making us read a book we already read…" said Tywin impatiently.

"I didn't read it !" exclaimed Joeffrey looking especially proud of himself.

"Good for you," said Tywin, rolling his eyes, "You can publish it. We will organise a gala or some sort of celebration, don't forget to let the author know… Who is she again ?"

"Oh, an unknown girl, Regina North. Not important. Her book is quite impressive : she is going to put a milestone on the history of the espionage novel. Jonquil is a risqué character but she may become the new James Bond. The readers would want this to continue." complimented Cersei.

Tyrion smiled and looked at the "Thanks" section at the end of his copy of Apnea. It had only a line : "Thanks to the one who was frank about white chocolate."

Tyrion had to attend those fancy parties where writers could finally show off about their books before a whole crowd of people only interested in the Champagne and in being seen in the right places with the right people.

Margeary was there, Sansa at her arm and was obviously looking for the mysterious writer of the new best-seller Apnea. In fact, everybody was looking for her with their unread copy of the novel for her to sign but nobody knew who she was. Tyrion was emptying the bar with Bronn, watching. It was eleven pm and nobody asked Sansa if she was she mysterious Regina North yet. He chuckled at her unease when he heard Margeary complaining about the haughtiness of successful writers.

They had yet to make eye contact. Tyrion couldn't wait to make eye contact with her. They never spoke again after their afternoon at the café. She left him while a sincere bright smile and never sent an email again. He recognised her the minute he opened the new copy she sent. The title hadn't changed but the novel was fat better. She was still a bit awkward but she was true to her heart. He sincerely thought his heart would break when he saw the male character, Florian, had evolved from a swallow handsome man to a tortured and disfigured man Jonquil genuinely fell in love with. It felt so true he couldn't imagine Sansa not falling in love with Florian as well.

His eyes kept following her beautiful pearl grey silk gala dress everywhere across the room. He barely noticed when Margeary left but he did notice Sandor Clegane leaving his master with his new betrothed to approach her. She opened her handbag and handed him a DVD with a smile brighter than the full moon and when the Hound's big square fingers brushed hers, her smile only brightening more (if it was possible) Tyrion didn't understand why his heart broke.