A/N: For Lucy, who inspired parts of this fic with her headcanons and the conversations we'd have when it was 5am for her. Your presence changed everything. Please note that this is my first time writing for ASOIAF/GoT. No spoilers really, as this is a modern AU. This is also more related to ASOIAF.
Title is from the song Bravado by Lorde, and the other songs mentioned are Numb, Lies, Starring Role, Lonely Hearts Club and Buy the Stars by Marina & the Diamonds, and A World Alone by Lorde. I highly suggest you check out Lorde's album Pure Heroine if you haven't already, because it is the Sansa and Margaery album.
It's a switch flipped
It's a pill tipped back, it's a moon eclipsed, whoa
And I can tell you that when the lights come on I'll be ready for this
It's in your bloodstream
A collision of atoms that happens before your eyes
It's a marathon run or a mountain you scale without thinking of size
Bravado – Lorde
Margaery Tyrell arrives at Aegon Targaryen Prep on the first day of Sansa's sophomore year. Margaery is two years older than her, but by lunchtime, a picture of Margaery Tyrell has been painted for her.
She recently moved from Highgarden, a small town renowned for its beauty and well off residents. She has three brothers – Willas, Garlan, and Loras – all older and out of high school. Her laugh is said to have forced a smile out of the toughest of teachers, and everyone's saying that she's clever and beautiful, and has the world eating out of the palm of her hand.
Everyone at Aegon Targaryen Prep wants Margaery Tyrell, but Margaery Tyrell wants Sansa Stark.
Sansa's prodding her fork at what she assumes is meatloaf, but the school cafeteria's food is so dodgy that Sansa's not certain, when the seat across from her is occupied. Sansa tilts her head up, and her eyes graze over the girl sitting across from her, and her breath catches in her throat.
Sansa automatically knows that this girl is Margaery Tyrell, for nobody this beautiful has ever been at Aegon Targaryen Prep before – not even Daenerys Targaryen, Sansa's best friend who has silvery white hair and manages to look like a queen in old grey dresses and leather vests. Margaery Tyrell had flowing brown hair and the loveliest brown eyes, and she wore the school's drab uniform as if it were a gown. Studs in the shape of roses graced her eyes, and Sansa caught the scent of roses emitting from Margaery as well.
She's beaming at Sansa, as if Sansa is as lovely as Margaery herself.
"What's your name?" she questions, and Sansa has to swallow before replying.
"Sansa. Sansa Stark."
"A beautiful name for a beautiful girl" Margaery replies, and Sansa finds her heart skipping a beat, much to her confusion. Margaery, of course, doesn't notice, even if her eyes suggest otherwise. "I'm Margaery Tyrell."
"I know" Sansa blurts out before she can stop herself, and Margaery laughs, and, oh God, it's just about the loveliest thing Sansa has ever heard. Sansa blushes, whether due to Margaery's laughter or because of her previous words, she's not sure. "I-I'm sorry. Margaery's a lovely name."
Margaery's smile turns into a smirk, and an eyebrow raises "For a lovely girl?"
Sansa feels the heat rushing towards her cheeks again, but she's stopped by the arrival of Daenerys. Even though they're supposed to follow a strict school dress code, Dany's without a blazer, wearing black combat boots, and her tie is twisted through her hair rather than around her neck – where a dragon necklace hangs instead. Margaery turns to Sansa's best friend and introduces herself, and Dany does the same.
Margaery spends lunchtime with them, even though they all know she could be sitting at the centre table, besides Joffrey Baratheon and every other popular person at Aegon Prep, or just about anywhere else in the cafeteria really. But she picks Sansa and Daenerys, the two girls who once sat at that table too, before they were banished for separate reasons.
And later, as the three leave the cafeteria and Sansa notices Margaery's skirt is too short, and the brunette links arms with Sansa and Dany, Sansa knows that this year is going to be wonderful.
….
Margaery Tyrell is quite unlike anyone Sansa Stark has ever met.
The entire world is wrapped around her finger, and Margaery knows it. She laughs and she flirts with the boys, and smiles at the girls. The teachers adore her, for her brain and for everything else. They don't seem to care that her skirt is too short or that she skips school now and then, or that one month in, she starts wearing heeled little shoes to school. The boys all want to be with her and the girls all want to be her – and be with her too. Margaery knows all of this, and she simply smiles and presses kiss after kiss to cheeks.
But there's another side to Margaery, one that Dany and Sansa see. The one who misses her brothers dearly, the one who laughs and means it, the one who listens to strange music all sung by ladies. She introduces Sansa to Lana Del Rey and Charli XCX, and one day, as Margaery walks Sansa home from school, she introduces Sansa to yet another female artist.
"Oh, my sweet Sansa" Margaery says suddenly, looking up from her iPhone, and Sansa smiles once more at the name Margaery has taken to calling her. She calls Dany 'Dany' and everyone else by their full names, but Sansa is my sweet Sansa, and Margaery won't say why. "Have you ever heard of Marina & The Diamonds?"
Sansa shakes her head, and Margaery gently tucks one earphone into Sansa's ear, and the red haired girl tries desperately to ignore the feel of Margaery's curled fingers resting on her cheek. Instead, she focuses on the music – a melancholy sounding song, something about a petri dish and looking for a golden light.
"Oh" Sansa says, and she momentarily forgets about Margaery, because this song is just so very beautiful "It's lovely."
"It's called Numb" Margaery tells her with that same smile, and they listen to it and several other songs before they arrive at the Stark mansion. Margaery squeezes Sansa's hand before removing the earphone and kissing her on the cheek, before she walks down the street, down the path that leads her back home.
That night, Sansa downloads all the music by Marina & The Diamonds.
….
Margaery brings Sansa and Dany home for the first time during winter break.
She lives a few streets away from Sansa, and on the completely opposite side to town of Dany – at least where Dany's current home is. The Tyrell mansion is large, and makes Sansa's home seem tiny in comparison. Flowers of all kind grace the front yard, but everything is arranged so tastefully. The Tyrell mansion itself is creamy white, with a golden balcony peeking out from various rooms higher up, with large windows and an even larger brown door.
Inside, it's even more beautiful, with gold and cream and brown and white, but also all the colours of all the flowers. More flowers are inside, and Margaery gives Sansa and Dany her smile, the smile that makes Sansa's heart skip a beat for reasons she can't quite explain.
"My family are quite fond of flowers" she explains, leading the other two girls up the stairs with a laugh "They even call my grandmother the Queen of Thorns."
Margaery's room is exactly like Sansa thought it would be (not that she had thought about it, of course.) It was large and bright, with a four poster bed draped in snowy white sheets, and a light lavender colouring to the walls. It smells like Margaery, like roses, and Sansa finds the ends of her mouth quirking upwards.
They spend the night there, Sansa and Dany both, and all three of them sleep on Margaery's large and beautiful and oh so soft bed. Sansa sleeps in the middle, and she feels Dany's hair ticking her from behind, but that's nothing new to Sansa. She's been sharing beds with Dany since she was fourteen and the girl approached her, for Sansa's old best friend Jeyne was gone, and Dany, who may have been beautiful and kind was the strange new girl with the silvery white hair. And so Dany became Sansa's new best friend, and Sansa grew to adore the older girl who could speak numerous languages and who loved dragons, the one who would flirt with Sansa's poor, unsuspecting, confused brother Jon whenever she was over. The one who was now with Sansa's poor, unsuspecting, confused brother Jon. Daenerys Targaryen was a lot of things, but to the redhead, first and foremost, she was Sansa's best friend.
But Margaery, who had managed to turn the duo into a trio, was still so very new to Sansa. Even after knowing her for months, Sansa still wasn't sure she knew Margaery at all, behind the flirting and the short skirt, even behind the girl who liked Marina & The Diamonds. She was an enigma, and she occupied Sansa's thoughts frequently. She thought long and hard, but she could never quite discover the mystery that was Margaery Tyrell.
But as Sansa watched the other girl sleep, she realized that Margaery was many things, but she was still just a girl, just like Sansa Stark was just a girl.
….
Sansa brings Margaery home the day before New Years, but Dany is not with them this time. She smiles politely at Sansa's parents, and Ned grins and Catelyn's face softens at the sight of this lovely girl who is friends with their oldest daughter.
She knows Jon and Robb quite well as it is, as they are in the same year and Dany and Jon date, but she's not familiar with Arya or Bran or Rickon. Arya asks Margaery questions that makes Sansa scold her, but Margaery simply laughs and answers them all, and slowly, Arya warms up to her.
Bran is enthralled by her, and Margaery and Sansa sit under a large tree in Sansa's backyard, while Bran sits on a branch above them, seemingly unbothered by the cold. Margaery tells him stories, stories even Sansa has not heard before. Later, Margaery announces she's going to return inside, because she's not quite used to winter like the Starks are, and Bran eagerly scrambles down from his post to go back inside with Margaery.
Rickon lets Margaery brush his hair, and Sansa briefly wonders how Margaery does it.
"I had a lovely time" Margaery tells her after, and she tells Sansa she'll see her back at school. There's an ache in the redhead's chest as she watches Margaery walk away, and she finds herself wondering who she is to kiss at midnight on New Years now.
And then Sansa remembers she's not supposed to think those things.
….
Margaery starts dating Robb Stark when the girls arrive back at school.
Robb is charming, and Robb is handsome, and even though he's her brother, Sansa knows these things. She also knows that Robb is kind and Robb is caring and Robb is brave, and he's exactly the type of boy Margaery deserves. But Sansa feels awful, because she can't help but feel jealous when she sees them together. This is strange, because she can't be jealous of Margaery because Robb's her brother, but that would mean she's jealous of Robb, and she's not.
She's just confused is all. She tells Daenerys as much, although Dany's violet eyes tells Sansa that she doesn't believe her. She's just confused, and she really likes the songs Lies and Starring Role, and that's why she's been listening to them on repeat – not because of Robb and Margaery. And she's just confused and busy, which is why she's been avoiding both her oldest brother and brunette best friend.
At dinner one night, Catelyn asks Robb about Margaery and Sansa glares at her plate. Robb says that Margaery is lovely, but of course, everyone knows that already.
Ned asks Sansa about the songs she's been listening to on repeat all week.
Sansa's not jealous.
Until she realizes she is.
….
Margaery doesn't like being avoided though, and she forces Sansa to come on a drive with her one day, about a week into term. Margaery pulls into an empty car park after 20 minutes of silence, and she turns to look at Sansa, frowning for what seems like the first time ever.
"My sweet Sansa" she says, and Electra Heart plays softly in the background. Sansa hates the way she still smiles at the name Margaery calls her. "Why have you been avoiding me?"
Sansa shakes her head too quickly to be convincing "I'm not. Truly." But she knows Margaery doesn't believe her, and Sansa doesn't believe herself. Silence takes over them again, and Lonely Hearts Club is the only thing the two girls hear for several minutes. Then Margaery speaks again, softer than Sansa has ever heard her.
"I broke up with Robb."
Sansa's head snaps up, and she looks at Margaery – sweet, wonderful, beautiful Margaery. "Why?" she asks, because she can't quite stop herself from doing so. She wonders how Margaery feels, how Robb feels, if Dany knows, but more than anything, she wonders what it means.
Margaery shrugs "He's lovely, your brother. But we never quite connected. There was a lot of kissing-" Sansa looked down, and she felt Margaery pause, before taking Sansa's head in her hand and tilting it up"Look at me, my sweet Sansa."
Sansa does, because she can't quite tell Margaery no.
"But, we never connected. Not the way I connect with Dany, or with you. Especially you." she looks down, and Sansa finds her heart beating faster "And, as it turns out, he's quite infatuated with a girl from another school. Jeyne."
It's quiet again, and Sansa can hear the opening words of Buy the Stars playing softly. "My former best friend was called Jeyne."
"I believe it's a different one" Margaery replies, before tilting her head to one side "Before Dany?" And Sansa nods. "Before me?"
Sansa shakes her head, and she sees Margaery's face fall – and this time, the other girl doesn't put her smile back on. "No" Sansa says softly "You were different." Margaery's frown is still there, but she manages to raise an eyebrow nonetheless. Sansa takes a deep breath, Margaery's words still ringing in her ears. Especially you.
"You're lovelier" Sansa says finally, and she closes her eyes, before she leans forward to press her lips against Margaery's.
Margaery tastes wonderful, and it takes no time for the older girl to start kissing Sansa back. Sansa has kissed boys before, but nothing was quite like kissing Margaery, and she sees why Robb spent so much time kissing her. The girl is pretty as she is clever, and she's a wonderful kisser.
Sansa pulls away, giggling slightly, and she notices that, for the first time, it's Margaery who's blushing.
….
She tells Jon first. They're not close – not the way they used to be – but Jon is an outsider too. He may be a Stark, but he's adopted, and Sansa decides that he would know what it's like to be different better than anyone else. She tries and fails to meet his eyes as she tells him the truth, and instead, she watches Ghost, Jon's albino dog sitting by his side. When she's finished, Jon's quiet for several moments, and Sansa begins to fear the worst. But she gets the best result possible, when Jon tells her that it's fine and he loves her nonetheless (well, not exactly, but it's as close as Jon would get to saying that.) Sansa responds by throwing her arms around a surprised Jon, who, after several beats, hugs back.
It's not until she's driving home with a smile on her face that Sansa realizes it's the first time she's hugged Jon in nearly seven years.
Robb hugs her tight too, and later asks her if it's Margaery she likes, because if so, Jon owes him twenty dollars. Bran and Rickon are too young to understand completely, even if they pretend otherwise, but their hugs, however much they fight against them, make Sansa's heart light up with joy.
Catelyn smiles, and tells her she knew all along, because a mother knows these things. Ned grins at her and tells her he loves her, although Arya tells her later that their father didn't quite understand until a few days later.
Dany says she knew all along.
….
It's not easy, not really.
When they arrive at school, hand in hand, there's shocked whispers and snide comments, and Joffrey Baratheon slams a fist against his locker before leading the hate brigade. Or, at least he does, until Robb and Dany step in.
The Tyrell's are as comforting as Sansa's family, for Loras, it turns out, is also gay. He confides in Sansa one night when he's visiting, while Margaery is talking to Loras' boyfriend, Renly, that Margaery has always been interested in girls, but none ever made an impact the way Sansa did.
But even with the support of their families, there are still rough days when Sansa cries into Margaery's shoulder, and Margaery holds her gently and whispers sweet things in her ear. Sansa decides she can withstand all the mocking looks and cruel words and harsh whispers as long as she can spend her days with Margaery, pretending that Margaery won't have to leave for college at the end of the year.
And they fight sometimes too. They fight over things that are big, things that are small, things that leaves Dany rolling her eyes and having to get them to make up. Which they do, because Sansa has never felt this way about someone before, and she's told it's the same for Margaery.
There are other things too – worries of the future, bad dates, nights when it's a bit too much for the girls to bare.
But they always figure it out. Little by little, they discover each other more and more, and Margaery Tyrell slowly becomes less of an enigma. Their relationship too, which was once a mystery, is slowly revealed, discovery after discovery.
It's all worth it, Sansa decides.
….
Sansa is trailing kisses up Margaery's neck and running her fingers under Margaery's skirt when the brunette pulls away suddenly, smirk on her lips.
"You know" Margaery whispers, her own hands sliding down Sansa's back "I think this could be even better with some make out music."
"Make out music?" Sansa asks, even though she knows not to question Margaery. The older girl laughs, sliding away from Sansa and climbing off the bed, dancing over to her computer. Sansa licks her lips as she watches her, watches Margaery in her short skirt and opened blouse, revealing a blue lace bra and lovely skin.
"Have you ever heard of Lorde, my love?" and Sansa shakes her head at the question, and she smiles at what Margaery calls her. Margaery tells Sansa she'll love her, and a voice that makes Sansa give off a little "oh" is soon playing throughout Margaery's room. Margaery laughs her lovely laugh, and pushes Sansa back down on the bed.
Later, Sansa lies against Margaery's bare skin, and Lorde still plays throughout the room. A World Alone, the song is called, according to Margaery. It's a beautiful sound, almost as beautiful as Margaery's laughter. And Sansa realizes what she thinks she's known all along, and she looks up at Margaery, sweat glistening on her skill but looking rather lovely.
"I love you" Sansa says, and if it had been said to anyone else, anyone who was not Dany or a Stark, it wouldn't be true.
And Margaery laughs and it blends in with the music, and she kisses Sansa gently, sweetly. "I love you too, my sweet Sansa."
And Sansa realizes that the loveliest sound in the world is the songs of Lorde, and Margaery's laughter, and Margaery's words, and yes, this has been a rather wonderful year.