The party was a success. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. Several couples were on the dancefloor, showing off their moves. Yes, the roaring twenties was a good theme. The trumpet solo of an electro swing song reached Brienne's ears and the sheer upbeatness made her smile.
'Shouldn't you enjoy the party instead of just standing there, hiding in a corner?' An amused voice spoke behind her. 'I thought that the birthday girl would be the centre of attention on this night.'
Brienne finally turned around and came face to face with her eternal tormenter. Even now he had a teasing smirk on his face. Sooner or later that man would be the death of her. The costume he wore tonight showed his figure off perfectly. Of course, outwardly there was no sign of Brienne's inner turmoil, she'd rather die than to give that man even more ammunition to tease her with.
'Didn't you have a meeting?' She spoke.
'I rescheduled it. I wouldn't miss my best friend's birthday party. You only turn 25 once in your life. I even got you a gift', he said, though his hands were suspiciously empty.
Brienne arched an eyebrow. 'I see no gift. You are aware of the fact that empty air is not actually a gift, right Jaime?'
His smile widened and it made his eyes sparkle. 'Why, I am the gift.'
Brienne opened her mouth to say something, but Jaime cut her off. 'Come, dance with me.' And before she could protest he had already grabbed her hand and dragged her off to the dancefloor. As they started dancing, Brienne felt a bit uncomfortable. 'Everyone is watching', she whispered to him.
'Of course everyone is watching, you're the birthday girl. Besides, if you didn't want people to look at you, maybe you shouldn't have put on a dress that shows off your legs so much.' As if to emphasize his point, he spun her around. Brienne felt a blush creep up her cheeks.
'I'm glad you're here, no matter how infuriating you can be at times', she told him, and she meant it. They had been friends for ages. Ever since she had beat him up on the playground at age 6 for pushing her friend, Sansa, into the pond, they had been inseparable. They made an unlikely pair, the golden heir to his family's company and the middle class girl who stood several inches taller than him (even more when she wore heels). They didn't care and were always very protective of the other.
'You know I live to please, my lady.' He winked at her. Their banter continued, oblivious to the rest of the world. They didn't see Margaery walk up to Sansa, point in their direction and giggle, so wrapped up in their own little world were they.
'They are so obvious, even a freight train is more subtle,' Margaery said to Sansa. She agreed. Everyone in their friend circle had noticed how both Brienne and Jaime would look at one another when they thought the other wasn't looking. Their group had a longstanding bet on how long it would take before the two would get together.
Sansa leaned towards Margaery. 'You know, I have reliable information that tonight is finally going to be the night.'
'How do you know?' Margaery asked.
'Apparently Jaime finally broke and told Tyrion about his feelings, so Tyrion gave him advice on what to do. After that conversation, Tyrion gloated to Robb on how he was going to win the bet now and Robb told me', Sansa explained. Margaery could only roll her eyes. Leave it up to Tyrion to scheme his own victory.
'Well, at least if he tells her, we finally won't have the urge to lock them up somewhere until they get together. All the longing looks are really starting to get on my nerves.' Sansa couldn't agree more, it was getting kind of irritating.
The DJ announced it was time for the cake. It was a beautiful three-layer red fruit cake, decorated with suns and moons and had a big candle up top that said 25. Brienne blew out the candle with a smile and the crowd cheered.
'What did you wish for?' Jaime asked.
'You know that I can't tell you that. If you tell someone, the wish won't come true', Brienne retorted.
'Ok, ok. Well, I do hope your wish will come true', he said. 'Will you come outside with me? I have a need for some fresh air.'
She agreed, it was getting a bit stuffy in there, but perhaps it was because the dancing had left her a bit breathless.
As they walked outside, the cool night air washed over her and made her shiver a bit. Jaime noticed, and wordlessly shrugged out of his jacket and put it around her shoulders. Brienne looked at him with a grateful smile. She would never find this man not attractive.
They walked to a nearby bench at sat down. Brienne noticed a slight change in atmosphere. Jaime was fidgeting with his hands and was looking down at his shoes, he seemed nervous. The thought almost made her snort, Jaime? Nervous?
'Brienne, I…' He closed his mouth again. He swallowed. 'Brienne, we've been friends for a very long time, and your friendship means the world to me. I don't ever want to lose it.' He paused again.
'Jaime, our friendship is very important to me as well. You won't lose it. You should know by now that I'm not that easy to get rid of.' This made him chuckle, and he couldn't agree more. Finally, Jaime looked up at her, a myriad of emotions swirling in his eyes. It was now or never.
'Brienne, I love you', he blurted out. 'I love that we're best friends, but I want to be more than that. You're always on my mind. The first thing I think about when I wake up, and the last when I go to bed.' He kept rambling on. Brienne was stunned for a few seconds. Did she hear that right? Jaime was in love with her? As his words finally started to sink in, a smile started to form on her lips. A smile that grew with every passing moment. Brienne felt like floating.
Jaime had started to trail off when he saw her smile.
'Does that earthshattering smile mean that you feel the same about me?' Jaime scarcely dared to hope, so when Brienne nodded, he did the only thing he could think of. He kissed her.
It was a sweet kiss. When they broke apart, their eyes shone. Jaime stroked her cheek with his thumb.
'Happy birthday, my little wench.' And he leaned in to kiss her again.
