persuasions

"So are ya gonna go?" Ygritte asked, staring at Jon intensely from across the table as he drank his piping coffee.

The look she threw his way left no room for any reply but a 'yes'. That was something about Ygritte that Jon wasn't entirely sure he enjoyed. She always wound up getting her way. Come hell or high water, she would have a smile on her face when it was all said and done.

Ygritte sat in her chair with a leg comfortably pulled up to her chest and an impatient look on her face. She was fair-skinned and redheaded like Sansa, but with a fierceness and wildness that his graceful cousin lacked. Without objection from any, one could describe her personality as rough around the edges, difficult, stubborn, and ceaselessly witty. But it was good to have those kinds of people in our lives, Jon knew. He surrounded himself with honest people because he enjoyed a life without lies and deceit; this was also one of the reasons he'd never ventured into King's Landing.

"I don't think it'd be a good idea." He finally replied when he couldn't take that piercing stare of hers any longer.

"Why the heck not?!" orange eyebrows furrowed as their owner's question erupted like a volcano.

"It's complicated." Was Jon's simple answer, just before he placed his coffee cup on the table.

"Let me try to understand this... Your royal Northern family has invited you to a party where there will be other students—students you've certainly never met—and you want to skip out on them?"

Jon sighed, "It's not that simple."

"Help me understand the complexities of it, then." Ygritte said.

"Ygritte…"

"Just what is it you're hiding?" she asked, reading him like a book.

"I don't want to drunkenly frolic around under a mask at some soirée. I'm not some silly girl…"

Ygritte visibly took offense to that, "The hell's that supposed to mean?! It already sounds like it'll be one good time to me. There's going to be free alcohol and food! You'd be stupid to not go!"

Jon leaned forward and rested on his arm, then ran his free hand through his wildly curly hair. He'd forgone tying it back today since he was off work. "There's someone who's going to be there that I…" he paused, trying to find the correct phrasing, "Someone who I don't think I want to see."

At this new and irresistible tidbit of information, an orange eyebrow cocked. "Oh really?" Her blue eyes were a little wide in curiosity.

"Yes. Can we leave it at that and be done with it?"

"You know we can't." Ygritte smiled against her knee very mischievously.

"Can't what?" Daenerys' voice came as she approached with a large and piping hot latte in-hand.

Jon nearly fell forward on the table. "Nothing!" He whined, desperate to drop the issue. He knew Daenerys' unexpected arrival would only exacerbate the situation.

Daenerys, the young and beautiful Targaryen heiress, took a seat without permission. She was only briefly acquainted with Ygritte, but she'd come to know Jon quite well in the many months they'd known each other. Recently, she was informed that she was his aunt; a secret that had both shocked and delighted her.

Her silver-blonde hair was quite a radiant sight, one that was rare in the seven kingdoms. Most people with hair of this shade had to dye it. She, however, wore her natural shade proudly in spite of the imposters. It went ever so perfectly with her light violet eyes, which gave her lineage away immediately.

While the king, Robert Baratheon, did not particularly enjoy her family's presence in Westeros, he tolerated them because of their close relation to the Dothraki. The Dothraki army clashing with the Royal army would leave immeasurable casualties, primarily on the Royal army's side. And even though he may not have been dethroned from his stolen throne, Robert's people would not take kindly to the misery a war-torn country would invite. Robert was aware of this, and since the Dothraki weren't coordinated enough to rebel or even fully present in Westeros, an effectively fragile peace existed. The king should have counted himself lucky the Targaryens did not seek his head for removing their 'Mad' father from the throne.

Daenerys' second oldest brother, Viserys, was a full supporter of the Targaryen claim to the Iron Throne. However, Rhaegar had decided to keep him close at his side since he was somewhat emotionally unstable and more often than not made a spectacle of himself in public. Some time ago, Viserys had turned on Daenerys and it almost cost him his life by Drogo's hand. Keeping him at his side would ensure his life remained intact.

Daenerys had received some brotherly advice from Rhaegar that they choose their battles wisely. The same advice had been extended to Viserys. An all out rebellion when only a select few supported their claim to the throne was not an ideal situation to dive into. It could lead to the extinction of House Targaryen, which is why he counseled them against starting any confrontations with the crown.

His plans for the future rested on the idea that there was some other way to win the realm; perhaps a roundabout strike from where the enemy would least expect it…

Importantly, the Targaryen line was only strayed from with Jon, who was the product of a Stark-Targaryen love affair. Every other known Targaryen in existence was the pure-blooded result of incestuous relations, and this fact was widely known throughout the kingdoms. While accepted by the other Houses, it was far from a glorified practice.

With all of this in mind, understandably, Daenerys of all people would never judge Jon for the sparks flying between him and his cousin, Robb. Well, the sparks that mostly Robb had been trying to ignite at every opportunity, that is.

Daenerys stared down at Jon, who she could tell felt her eyes on him. "I want to know what you can't do." She said.

"He won't go to the party his cousin is having because he says someone he doesn't 'think' he wants to see will be there." Ygritte replied, smiling innocently when Jon's dark eyes appeared to stare daggers at her.

"Really? And just who is this person you don't want to see?" Dany asked.

"It can't be any of your cousins' friends, huh?" Ygritte piggybacked, trying to narrow the list of suspects. "You can't have met them since you only visited their house that one time." This was a flawed assumption, but not completely irrational considering most students didn't return to the Midlands until a few days before classes started again. Of course, she was unaware that Jon had encountered most of Robb and Sansa's friends already…

It had been a couple days since Jon had visited his cousins at their summer home. He'd received a text from Sansa saying he was invited to her masquerade at the end of the week, and to bring a date—a detail he had not divulged to these prying ladies. She'd been sending him random Snapchats here and there, and he returned the favor every so often. He didn't want to leave her hanging, and she was admittedly an entertaining girl.

He soon discovered that Robb and Arya had gotten his number from her, and to his surprise, Robb had not sent him a message beyond the initial one to let him know what his number was. He was thankful for it, too. He wasn't ready to speak to him or see him again…

Things had only gone downhill for Jon since the last time they'd spoken. In the few days they'd been apart, he'd had an explosively wet dream about his cousin, and came dangerously close to a second one last night. Robb Stark had found his way to the forefront of Jon's busy mind more than once with that curly auburn hair and charmingly handsome smile he often donned. It was all too confusing for him, and he felt a great deal of shame over it.

"Look, I just don't want to go…" he said, trying to dismiss it again.

"You might not want to, but you will. And I'm going with you." Ygritte told him very forcefully. "You're not going to be hiding out from your family for some high school emo shite."

Jon sat up completely with a look of pure disbelief on his face. "Ygritte-"

"Who's invited?" Dany asked Ygritte.

"Apparently it's not exclusive as long as you're with a date and have a mask." The redhead replied with a wink at Jon, who was surprised she knew that information. "What?" she asked. "It's a masquerade thrown by a rich Westerosi socialite. I can figure how it goes. And Daenerys, if you want to go, you could bring that wild fellow I've seen you walking around with."

Dany gave an amused smile. "Drogo would not like a party like that." She said knowingly.

Jon watched Ygritte and Daenerys begin chatting away like they were old friends, laughing and relating to each other like school girls despite the fact that they'd shared one conversation in the past. He was about to use this as an opportunity to escape, but Daenerys held him in place by his shoulder. "You can't leave until you spill the beans about this person you might not want to see." She insisted.

"Come on, this is the story of the summer!" Ygritte added. "You haven't had any romantic exploits to speak of, so I need to hear this! Who could be making our stern and brooding Jon feel like hiding under a rock from embarrassment?"

"I'm starting to think you don't trust us." Dany commented, looking at Jon through the corners of her eyes.

"It's my cousin, Robb. I don't want to see him right now." Jon admitted, running a hand through his hair nervously. His chest was pounding and his palms were growing sweaty at the thought of revealing what had been going on between him and Robb.

"Oh." Ygritte breathed out, proceeding to drop the suspicion that the cause of Jon's unwillingness to go was of a romantic nature. "Why wouldn't you want to see him? He's family, right?" she asked before sipping from her own iced drink.

"Because I think he wants to fuck me."

Ygritte coughed uncontrollably and even snorted her drink through her nose. Daenerys stared at Jon with wide eyes.

"Why do you think that?" the Targaryen asked.

Jon sighed. "I don't know… It's the little things… Like the smiles he gives me, the lingering stares, the way he touches my hand when we meet and part, how he likes to walk close to me—closer than you would a stranger you just found out was your cousin…"

Ygritte slammed her hand on the table a few times. "Don't mind me, just saving myself from dying!" she coughed, annoyed that no one even offered her a pat on the back.

"I thought you had that under control." Dany said fairly seriously. "If you'd keeled over, I'd have gotten up to fetch someone to help you."

"I thought you were making a joke." Jon added.

Ygritte grabbed a napkin and wiped her mouth. "Better hope neither of you ever choke, 'cause I'll help the process along!" She warned.

"Apologies." Dany offered.

"Now Jon," Ygritte began, "Did you say your cousin wants to fuck you? Like gut you with his spear…? Or let you do the guttin'?" she grinned under her napkin.

"That's not funny, Ygritte."

Said girl hunched, still grinning. "I thought it was pretty clever."

"…All I know is he seems attracted to me." Jon said.

"You'd know more about this than me." The Wildling spoke, looking directly at Daenerys. "If no kids can come of it, is it really that bad?"

Dany blatantly ignored Ygritte, earning a satisfied grin from the other woman. She smiled at Jon, "Do you like him?"

"No." Jon said flatly.

"Well then-"

"I mean, not that I hate him. I just don't like him in that way… He's my cousin." Jon corrected a little hastily. "Sure, he's funny and kind and charming, but… I don't know. It's just weird. He has a girlfriend, so I don't know why he'd want to chase after me."

"Woah." Ygritte interrupted, "This is… new information… Is she his sister or something? Or another cousin?"

Jon's eyes narrowed. "No, he's not like that." He didn't even realize he'd been offering some sort of defense for Robb this whole time. Perhaps it was because he did truly believe Robb was a very decent human being, apart from his odd attraction.

"Really? Because a man who fancies his cousin even though he has a girlfriend doesn't sound like a wholesome fellow to me…"

"He's different…" Jon tried, "He just is. He's not some monster or perverted freak. In fact, I think we'd get along well. As friends."

Daenerys rested her cheek on her hand, "You sound almost fond of him."

"Daenerys… don't…"

Ygritte shook her head. "I wouldn't be saying this if you gave me reason to believe otherwise, but maybe you should just give in and fuck him. If you find out you like him, make it good. If you don't, make it so bad he never wants to touch you again."

"There's no need for such measures." Dany said disapprovingly. "Just be yourself around him, and open up to him. Nothing has to happen, and it actually shouldn't if he has a girlfriend."

"Jonny-boy," Ygritte called.

Said man looked at her, still uncertain. "What is it?"

"Talk to him and get to know him. I know it seems like I've been teasing, but this is serious. There's a lot that goes to this that your pretty little head can't understand all at once because you think it's 'wrong'. Stop letting other people's opinions determine what you do and just do it. If that just so happens to be your blood cousin, then… give him the ride of his life!" she paused in thought for a second, "I am curious, though. Do you even like guys? I never really hear you talking about any girls you like, or guys for that matter."

"Ygritte…" Jon sighed and closed his eyes, wanting nothing more than to drop the subject. He knew he should have just avoided talking about this altogether. They only managed to make things more confusing than they already were.

But still, it was good that they weren't judging him. In fact, they were giving him pretty positive vibes.

"Oh, and I'm going with you to that masquerade, if you didn't catch that." Ygritte added.

"Is he going to follow us all bloody day?" A slightly irked Loras whispered to Renly as the two of them strolled the sidewalks of the charming downtown district. He took a peek over his shoulder and watched an unsuspecting Robb stuff a few nachos into his mouth before turning back to Renly.

Renly shrugged and looked back as well, but only for a second. "I don't know, but I'm sure we can lose him if we take just tell him we need to be alone. It's our date, not us wanting to get the gang together."

Truly, coming downtown today was the perfect thing to do, especially for a date. The area was just meant for it. The air was quite forgiving, considering summer was beginning to unfold. The sky was blue and filled with clouds lazing their way through it. There were people all around, shopping, eating, and simply engaging each other in lively conversation. It was lunchtime so the various and savory smells of food hung heavily in the air from the restaurants.

Along the second floors of many of the buildings, window boxes with lush little gardens were carefully placed. The wind blew and carried some of the flower petals through the air and rustled the trees lining the sidewalks as well. It was a very ideal place to bring that special someone for a delightful afternoon together.

Loras let a sigh escape in response to Renly, "Look, I didn't even want to go out to lunch today, so this is what you get… Your plans have been utterly dashed by our Stark playmate." he admitted, salting the fresh wound.

Appalled, the Baratheon prince slowed his pace and let his expression convey his hurt and confusion. "Excuse me for trying to do something with you besides fucking and lounging around the house and gardens all day! If you didn't want to spend the summer together, you should have said so. I would gladly go back to King's Land-"

"Alright, alright! I'm sorry!" Loras apologized hurriedly, wanting nothing more than to keep Renly happy. His voice was rising beyond what was appropriate for a whispered aside now… When his gallant prince got into one of his fits, he was far harder to calm than Loras ever was. This, he assumed, was likely due to Renly's second-natured habit of keeping his emotions more swayed towards kindness and charm, rather than letting his anger out for anything more than short bursts.

He certainly was cute when he was venting, though.

Renly took in a few breaths and clamed himself before speaking again. It was unbecoming of a prince to throw a tantrum, after all. "Well, the damage is done now. Let's just go back to the house and relax." He said, passive aggressiveness not really lacking in his tone.

Loras cleared his throat, "We can't with him following us." He motioned back over his shoulder with his eyes.

Both men turned and took a look at Robb, who licked his fingers clean of nacho cheese and caught them staring as he did. He licked his fingers slower, unsure of what he'd done wrong.

"Robb, what are you doing today?" Renly asked.

After chewing his food up quickly, Robb replied. "I was thinking we could hang out." He said with a smile. He was such a sweet yet naive young man; too unaware of the fact that he'd long since become a third wheel today.

"Aren't your siblings in town now? And your cousin?" Loras questioned, his tone subtly implying that Robb should have wanted to be spending time with them instead.

"Aye, but I thought I might spend time with you two. I have something important I'd like to talk to you about."

Loras squinted, "Wha-"

"Go on." Renly interrupted.

Robb finished off his nachos before dropping the now-emptied paper tray into a trash bin hanging on one of the streetlights. He licked his fingers clean and then wiped them on his pants. Both Renly and Loras quivered at the sight.

"What?" the Stark child said, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"When was the last time you washed your hands?" Renly asked.

"More like when was the list time he showered…?" Loras mumbled. While Robb didn't smell, it was easier to assume he didn't shower because of his Northern appearance.

"You two are very cute together." Robb countered, making both of them become noticeably embarrassed.

"Together…? Come off it, Robb." Renly said with a fake chuckle.

The three of them started on down the sidewalk again under the sun for a moment, then when they were away from prying ears, Robb spoke again. "I like someone." He confessed.

"Yes, we're all quite aware you have a girlfriend." Loras rolled his eyes. "You never cease to shut up about her. And I've seen you grope her enough to know she probably gets no rest around you. Just marry the girl already..."

"It's…" Robb paused and contemplated revealing his secret, "It's someone else." He settled on admitting.

Whatever interest either of the other men had lost in him today was reignited tenfold. They both came to a halt and stared at him.

"Well now, this is juicy." Renly couldn't easily contain his excitement on this scandalous news.

"Who is it?" Loras asked.

"I'll have to keep that secret for now." Robb told them, "But…"

"But…?" the other two said in unison.

After spotting a quiet table to sit at under the spotted shade of a tree, Robb led the two eager men to it and took a seat. Once they sat down, he spoke again, "What would you two say if I told you that I was interested in men?"

Renly's jaw dropped and his eyes grew wide in shock, "I never would have guessed you of all people were interested in men!" He whispered very strongly.

"I knew it." Loras chimed.

Robb and Renly stared at him in disbelief.

"And you never thought to tell me?!" Renly was clearly deeply hurt by this.

"It never really came up." The Tyrell heir shrugged and got comfortable in his chair. He let his gaze turn from Renly back to Robb, "What? It was obvious you were sleeping around before Talisa… And you always were flirty. Besides, I can just tell these things at this point."

Robb moved so he was leaning on the table. "Have you told anyone?"

"No, I'm not interested in outing you or anyone else. I liked watching you pretend you only liked women, and subtly check out men when you thought no one was looking. It was amusing."

"My life isn't a joke, Loras." Robb grew so serious Loras had no choice but to look away.

"Jeez, I'm sorry…"

Ever the people pleaser, Renly cut the tension, "Well, getting back to the topic at hand… Robb, care to tell us who you're wooing?"

The Stark child looked out to the buildings off in the distance that dared to touch the bright blue sky. He felt his heart unapologetically thrashing against his chest. His oceanic eyes returned to the two briefly, before staring down at the table. "I can't say."

Renly was not satisfied. "Weeeell… What are you going to do about Talisa? Have you told her?"

"No. I don't know what to do. I wanted to talk to you two about it. I figured you'd understand."

"Understand what?" Loras said.

"The gay stuff. Dating and things like that."

Robb's words took both men by surprise, and they quickly tried to play it off like what he was implying was a laughable thing.

Loras spoke through his fake laughter. "You've got it all wrong. We're not-"

"We all know you are." Robb interrupted, "It's old news."

"Margaery!" the young Tyrell slammed his fist down onto the table.

"Actually, she didn't say a thing; didn't need to, either. We all just figured it out after a while."

"Everybody knows?" Renly asked.

Robb scratched his bearded chin for a second. "I can't speak for the general public, but our friends all know." He told them.

"Wish everybody would just mind their own damned business." Loras grumbled.

Feeling somewhat guilty, Robb averted his gaze to the ground. "I guess I shouldn't have brought this up at all…"

"No, no! It's good that you did." Renly assured him. "At least now we don't have to hide it from them…"

"Soooo…" Robb began nervously, "How should I approach him about it?"

"Don't." Loras said flatly. "You're in a relationship."

"…" Renly had his own opinion on the matter. "Robb, if you feel like you're not happy with Talisa, maybe you should break up with her." He noticed Robb didn't take well to that idea, "Or… you could just confess to the other person and see how it goes. Don't do anything crazy, just let him know you're interested and you need to work things out with your girlfriend before you can act on that interest."

"Is this someone you'd even want to date? Or are you just looking for a quick fuck?" Loras asked when he saw Robb considering Renly's advice.

"I don't want to just fuck him. He's nice and very pretty and I feel like I would relate to him on a lot of things. I spent the afternoon with him once and we were just talking… and it felt so good, natural even, to have him by my side."

"Aww, Loras, he's blushing!" Renly called out.

Robb started peeling at the wood on the table a little. "Come on…" he said, unable to conceal his embarrassment.

Loras was growing surprisingly interested in this situation. "When will you see him again?" he asked.

"I don't know. Soon, I hope."

A bit unsatisfied, he continued. "When did you see him last?"

"A few days ago…"

"Where?" Renly asked.

"He visited our house."

The Baratheon's eyes narrowed a little, "The Stark summer house?"

"Yea."

"…Hmm…"

"Did you invite him to Sansa's masquerade?" Loras asked. "If Talisa's not going to be there, it's the perfect chance to slip him the old Northern charm." He teased. His facetiousness didn't sit too well with the heir to Winterfell, and his smile soon disappeared when he noticed this.

"I'm done here." Robb said as he got up and started on his way away from the two. "Enjoy your date!" He called loudly, knowing they'd be embarrassed even though there weren't many people in the area.

Once he'd put a few blocks between himself and the two of them, he sighed and wondered what he could do. The masquerade was tomorrow night so long as his parents didn't arrive from the North by then. He really wanted to spend that time with Jon, but Talisa would surely want to go with him. He couldn't tell her he wasn't going. He never wanted to lie to her.

Just as he considered shooting Jon a message, he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. After pulling it out, he saw that it was Sansa calling.

"Hello?" he said after answering.

"Hey Robb, can you do me huge a favor?" the girl replied.

"Sure."

"I sent Arya into town for some party favors and for the cake. I forgot to ask her to pick up some decorations, though. Can you do that for me? She left her phone here on the couch so I can't get in touch with her. I'd do it myself, but I'm cleaning everything up. There's so much dust everywhere." The summer house hadn't been visited in a number of months, and Robb should have been the one to clean it since he arrived first.

"I can do it. What do you need exactly?"

"An assortment of flowers I ordered. It's big so you'll need to be careful with it when putting it in your car."

"Is that it?"

"No, I need at least fifty beige taper candles, balloons—but only maroon, gray, beige, and black… and umm…" a sound of rustling paper echoed before she spoke again, "Amory's string lights, the white kind."

"Anything else?"

"No, but did you get all that?"

"Yes."

"Repeat it to me."

"Your flowers, stick candles-"

"Beige taper." Sansa corrected.

Robb sighed, "Maroon, gray, beige, and black balloons, and Amory's white string lights." He specified.

"Thank you, Robb. If you can't find string lights, it's okay. They're only going in the garden labyrinth."

"Alright. If I run into Arya, I'll tell her you said she's better at life than you." Robb told her with a grin.

"As if I'd say that." Sansa said, then sighed, "Well hurry back. You don't want to miss the cleaning."

"Riiight…" Robb said, then hung up the phone.

The thought to send Jon a message came back to him, but he saw that he had a message already. It was a message from Talisa saying they needed to talk, and it was urgent.