AN's: Oh god. I'm sorry about this one. I found it in my unfinished fics folder and for some reason I finished it. It hurts.
Brienne was cold.
She never did get used to it, not even after a year at Castle Black. But the bleakness of the Night's Watch was nothing compared to the biting chill beyond the Wall.
But this cold…this cold was different. She supposed it was the blood loss.
She's not sure how long she'd been lying in the snow after the battle was over. It'd been at least an hour since she had seen a dragon flying overhead. It had been green- Rhaegal. Jon was safe at least. She hoped the same could be said of the Queen.
She hoped they were all safe. Daenerys…Jon…Tyrion…Sansa…Pod…
She wished she could see them. Tell them. She wished she could see Tarth one more time. She wished she could see her father. But there was no time. Her time was up, it seemed.
She wished Jaime was with her.
Brienne stared at the gray sky above her and let her mind go back to their last night together…which had really been their first. She recalled the look in his eyes when she told him of Lady Stoneheart.
She should have known…even then…
But then he had kissed her and her world had turned upside down. Every moment of that night was engrained in her mind. The feel of his lips on hers, his skin under her fingertips, the weight of his body pressing her into the soft grass…
It had been the most wonderful night of her life, but when she woke the next morning…
She should have known…even then…
Brienne had ridden as fast as she could but it was too late. The Brotherhood was long gone and all she found were Pod and Hyle, freed and standing under a tree next to a stone. A stone marked with one word that would haunt her for the rest of her life.
Kingslayer
Tears welled up in Brienne's eyes. At least she could say now, at the end of it all, she had no regrets.
"I'm coming, Jaime…" Her words came out in a ragged breath as she reached out her hand, her eyes flickering closed one moment and shooting open the next as a pair of strong hands grasped her own and pulled her to her feet.
She glanced about, no longer in the bloody snow but surrounded by nothing but blazing, white light.
"Brienne."
Her name was as soft as a whisper, as reverent as a prayer…but the sound of it on his lips was burned into her soul.
"Jaime?"
He was there in front of her, as if he'd stepped out of one of her dreams. The same green eyes, the same easy smile, and the same hands - two hands - that pulled her into his arms.
She went willingly…clinging to him…thinking she had gone mad. But his body was solid against hers; the fabric of his shirt that she rubbed between her fingers was soft. His breath tickled her skin.
She pulled back, holding him at arms-length.
She traced the lines of his face. He looked rested…younger almost. His eyes were so clear she could see herself in them.
She touched her own face in surprise; the scar on her cheek was gone. As were the claw marks on her neck. Suddenly she became aware of how weightless she felt. She was finally free…of duty, of guilt, of war.
She could have cried, but no tears fell. Only a smile found her cheeks as she launched herself back into his arms.
"Jaime," she breathed and it sounded like home. He chuckled in her ear and it felt like peace. She clung to him, wanting to say so many things and only coming up with one.
"I'm sorry I took so long."
His grip on her tightened and suddenly they were floating, flying, fading…the white light engulfing them…his whisper echoing…
"I'm not."