On Friday she had arrived at Olenna's shortly before noon. Jon had told her he'd take care of all the details and she had been dying of curiosity these last few days wonder what he had come up with given the restrictions she had placed.

She entered to find the doors to the formal dining room open. Jon stood inside at the far end of the table. He finished setting down the plates of food he had been holding and then looked up at her. She took in the table. It was set nicely and there was a vase of milkwort upon it.

"I hadn't realized flowers were so hard to find here," Jon said in lieu of a greeting. "Sorry they're not prettier."

She moved to the table and ran her fingers over the leaves. "These are beautiful," she said with a reassuring smile. Jon gave her a ghost of a smile in return.

"How'd you convince Olenna to let you in here? She never lets guest use the indoor dining room."

"You should probably thank Marge for that actually. She was over here Monday evening rallying Olenna to our cause."

"Of course she was," Sansa laughed. She should've known Marge would insert herself.

"She just wants to help make sure you're happy." Jon decided there was no reason to tell her that he knew this because Marge had made a point of telling him he was to make her happy, and furthermore if he hurt her in any way he was guaranteed to wake up to a bed full of fire ants and scorpions. She had said it all with a sweet smile, but Jon had no doubt she'd do it if she thought it warranted.

"Well this is perfect." And it was. They had privacy here. She could relax here. It was almost strange so feel this relaxed while in town.

"Here, take a seat. Please," Jon said as he pulled out a chair for her.

She thanked him as she took her seat. He took his own seat to the right of her and she smiled at him. His gazed back and his eyes lingered on her face just long enough for her to start to blush. The sight made him shake his head a bit before he told her dig in.

It was clear they were both a bit nervous, so initially they kept to small talk. But once they finished eating they started to discuss a wider variety of things, and by some miracle they had even managed to keep to happier topics the entire time.

Their time together flew by. Olenna had slipped back in a few minutes ago and had looked pleasantly surprised to see them still in the dining room. "Don't mind me," she called as she disappeared to the rear of the house.

Her appearance made Sansa look at the clock. It was getting on in the afternoon and she still had work to do. Reluctantly she told Jon she needed to go and offered to help him clean up. He insisted he would take care of it after she left.

They got up from the table and moved to the entry way. "Will you be at church Sunday?" he asked shifting back and forth on his feet ever so slightly.

"We plan to be."

"Do you think it'd be alright if Sam and I sat with you and Arya for the service?"

"Of course. It's church after all." She might not want Petyr to know they were seeing one another romantically, but there was no reason she couldn't be seen being friendly with him, especially at church.

"Great, I look forward to it." There was a tension between them now. Sansa hadn't felt anything like it before and it made her feel very aware of her body and how close it was to Jon's.

"Can we do this again Monday? Lunch I mean," Jon asked after a moment.

"I'd very much like that."

"Great." They continued to stand in the hall. Jon wondered if he should kiss her. He wanted to, but then this was their first date. He didn't want her to think he was too pushy.

The clock struck two then and snapped the tension. "I better go. I told Arya I'd be back by four."

"Of course."

They said their goodbyes quickly and then she left to finish her deliveries.

She saw him again on Sunday, and they did sit in the same pew. However, they ended up with Arya and Sam between them because the boys had come in late. She was initially disappointed, but when she snuck a look at him during the opening prayer, she decided it was probably for the best. She doubted she'd have been able to focus on the sermon while fighting the temptation to touch Jon's hand.

Nearly three weeks had passed since their first date and things were still going well. They had shared five meals and three church services. In some ways it scared her a little. It had been almost too easy, like she was living in one of her dreams, and not just because of her relationship with Jon. Other things were falling into place as well.

When she hadn't been with Jon she had been working her ass off. Due to the extra mending she had taken on, she had more needle pricks in her hand than she could count, but in the end, it had been worth it. Because despite the pay cut Petyr had made her take, she had still been able to make the monthly mortgage payment. And not only had she made up it, but she'd actually come out a bit ahead. That realization had forced her into the alley way next to the bank, where she had cried in relief. In that moment she finally started to let herself believe that she was strong, that she might actually on day be able to do all the things she hoped for.

Arya would be getting her cast off at the end of this week which had led to Sansa declaring a moratorium on any mining operations at the claim, much to Arya's annoyance. But Sansa would not be swayed. She told Arya they could discuss it again come the fall, but right now she would not tolerate her risking heat stroke or some other injury. After quite a bit of back and forth Arya had reluctantly agreed.

"You need to swear it. Just saying yeah, yeah, ok fine is not enough."

"You don't believe me?" Arya asked in mock offense.

"No. I can see the lingering defiance in your eyes. So you're gonna have to swear it to me on ma and pa's grave."

"God you're intense. Must you be such a worry wort?!"

"Worry wort?! You almost blew yourself up! I'd like to go the rest of the summer without worrying about that again. Or heat stroke, or a lightning strike, or you getting caught in a flash."

"Fine. Fine. Just stop listing all of your worries."

And so Arya swore to back off the claim at least until the heat died down.

"Well I'm glad that's settled," Sansa said afterwards. "So, I was thinking that if you helped more with the wash, I could focus more on the mending."

"Ah ha! So this was your plan all along!"

"It wasn't a plan." Arya gave her a look. "It wasn't! But it makes sense. We need the money."

"What if I have another idea?"

"As long as it doesn't involve dynamite, I'm all ears." Arya stuck her tongue out in response.

"Well Jon's gonna teach me to shoot better, so I was thinking… I could hunt. I'm already pretty good with jackrabbits, but if I can get good enough for quail and peasant, well I think I can sell them to the butcher."

Arya was already rather skilled in snares and traps, it wasn't a terrible idea. But Sansa didn't relish the idea of her traipsing through the desert alone with a gun. "Can I think about it?" she asked after another moment of deliberation.

"Sure." Arya's tone told her that she was going to be doing this with or without Sansa's blessing.

She decided she would talk to Jon about it when she met him Tuesday at the Cerwyn claim. He had told her after church on Sunday that Brienne needed him early Monday due to a delivery and so she had suggested he come out and meet her. She had felt rather bold and resourceful with the suggestion.

When she told Marge about it the following day, she had thought it was funniest thing she'd heard all month.

"So you asked him to meet you, all alone, in an abandoned house?" Marge asked. Sansa could tell she was fighting a smirk.

"Not in the way you're implying," Sansa responded slightly offended. Marge lost the fight with the smirk then. "Well it's not like there are a lot of places to have secret dates in this town. I thought it might be nice to see him outside of your grandmother's house or church for once."

"And I can only imagine how eagerly he accepted that invitation," Marge teased her.

"Jon's a gentleman and he accepted as one," Sansa said narrowing her eyes at her friend.

"What does that even mean?" Marge laughed.

"It means he accepted promptly but he was not overly eager."

"Well you certainly don't want him to be over eager."

"Margaery!"

"What?" she asked and raised an eyebrow at her. Suddenly Sansa felt a bit foolish. What if Jon saw it like Marge?

"Oh god, do you really think he thinks…... that he thinks I want…. Oh god."

"Calm down! I was only teasing." She took Sansa's hand, the teasing smile now gone. "You have nothing to worry about. As you said, Jon's a gentleman."

Sansa knew she was right, but still, as a result of that conversation, she had been nervous when he'd arrived. But he had calmed her nerves when he hadn't shown even a hint of disappointment as she told him they would be spending their time together only on the large porch.

They had eaten the picnic she had packed which had included her mother's prickly pear pie. She discussed Arya's proposal with him and he offered to take her out hunting in addition to the shooting lessons if that would make Sansa more comfortable with the idea. She said it would. She knew Arya would be thrilled she was agreeing.

Eventually they cleaned up and packed everything in Lady's saddle bags. They stood now not far from their horses, near the porch, to shade themselves from the heat.

"Thanks again for bringing that pie. Now I understand why Robb went on and on about it."

"I'm glad you liked it. I was nervous it might not live up to its reputation, especially since you heard about my mother's, and they were far better than mine."

"I doubt that."

"You're just saying that because you have to."

They both laughed, and as their laughter faded away she felt the air around them charge and shift. It reminded her of the way things felt before the monsoon storms broke in the evenings. She closed her eyes for a moment to steady herself and then opened them as he gently placed his hands on her cheeks. He angled her face up to his, studying her eyes and her lips. She had sighed ever so slightly, relishing the way his rough hands felt on her cheeks.

"Can I kiss you?" he murmured. Words were lost to her and so she nodded her consent.

He tilted forward and kissed her then. His mouth was warmer and softer than she had expected. His beard tickled slightly but she found she liked it. She was just getting use to the sensation when he pulled away.

"What?" he asked softly when he took in the expression on her face.

"Again," she whispered. He smiled and leaned in to kiss her once more.

It was longer this time, and when his tongue swept between her lips she marveled at the taste of him. It was the taste of earth, smoke, sunshine and prickly pear. She knew until the day she died, prickly pear would now make her think of him. After several long moments he had pulled away.

"We should head back," he said. His voice suddenly seemed very hoarse.

"Ok," she agreed breathlessly.

"I'll see you Friday?"

"Yes," she answered with a smile.

xxxxxx

Friday found them in Olenna's backyard. It had just been too hot to stay inside today, and with no one else besides Olenna there, they saw no harm and spending their time in the fenced in backyard.

"I was thinking I should walk over to Oathkeepers with you today," she said as their time together was coming to an end.

"Really?"

"Yes. I have a drop off and I thought I'd catch up with Brienne."

"Alright." He was more than happy to have her walk with him, but he was surprised she would suggest it. Especially since they were still really only seen in public together at church, and that was a church Petyr rarely attended and there were always other people acting as a buffer. Their path to the saloon would lead them right past all of Petyr's places.

She could tell he was trying to puzzle out her request. "I was thinking maybe it was time people started to get used to seeing us together a bit more." It came out more like a question than she had meant it to. Jon drew her into his arms.

"We don't need to rush it."

"We're far from rushing it," she said looking up at him. "It's been over a month. I – I don't want to keep hiding it." He knew the struggle she'd been having over this. In the last week they had discussed it more than once. In the beginning he hadn't wanted to hide all this, but as he had come to understand the town and Petyr's influence over it, he had come to understand why Sansa was hesitant to risk his anger.

"You're certain?" He'd hide in Olenna's dining room with her till the end of his days if that's what she wanted.

"It's just walking. Friends walk together." He gave her a look that said, "But we're not friends." She sighed softly. "I just think that if we're seen together more and more, well people will just get used to it and it'll eventually stop attracting attention."

He thought it was rather wishful thinking on her part, but if she was ready than so was he. He had meant what he'd said before, Petyr would not scare him away.

So they had set out to Oathkeepers soon after. Jon was carrying the bag of laundry meant for Brienne. They passed on the far side of the street from The Baelish Block. A careful glance found the sidewalk there clear of Petyr and his men. And it helped that it was the end of the lunch hour, so the street was rather busy with folks returning to work. It was much easier to blend in than he had anticipated.

They arrived at the doors of Oathkeepers and she smiled at him. "See? No one even gave us a second glance."

He knew she was saying that to reassure herself that they had made the right the decision. He wanted to reassure her as well and so without thinking drew her to him.

"Jon," she said after a moment.

He released her and followed her gaze across the street to the front of The Mockingbird that sat diagonally across from Oathkeepers. No one was out front, but he knew she was reminding him they still needed to proceed with cautious.

"Right," he said turning back to her. He didn't want to think any more about Petyr today. "Come on, let's go see Brienne."

xxxxxxxx

The following Monday they stood in the alley way that ran alongside Olenna's. Sansa was against the side of the house, her arms encircling his neck. "One more," she pleaded.

"You know you're really running behind schedule today," he teased.

"They can all wait. I can't leave here until you're properly kissed me."

Jon laughed softly at her as he leaned forward. "I'm rather certain I properly kissed you in the backyard already," he whispered into her ear.

"That was the backyard. This is not the backyard," she whispered in response.

He pushed her hair aside and kissed the side of her neck right under her ear. She shivered slightly despite the summer heat. She could never get enough of his kisses. And since she won't be able to see him Friday as he had agreed to accompanied Sam and Doc T on a supply run to Charleston, she needed to get a week's worth in today.

He trailed his lips along her jaw next and then captured her lips. One arm slide around her waist and pulled her against him while the other wound into her hair. She couldn't help but sigh. When his tongue parted the seam of her mouth she ran a hand into the curls at the nap of his neck and he sighed back. He hadn't kissed her this deeply before. All those soft twinges and desires she had felt stirring before were nothing compared to the heat that was now beginning to coil in her lower abdomen.

She drew back just enough to catch a breath. "Jon," she breathed against his lips.

"Sansa?" a woman's voice called from the end of the alley. They pushed apart immediately and turned to see Roz standing at the end of the alley. "I – I'm glad I found you. I was just coming to ask Olenna if she had seen you today. Petyr was getting rather worried," she said glancing at Jon from the corner of her eye.

"I see. Well I'm just - just running a bit late, but I'm on my way there next. If you'd like, I'll give you a ride back."

"Don't be silly, it's just down the street. You finish up here and I'll just go let Petyr know you are on the way," Roz said. She turned and entered back onto the street before Sansa could respond.

"Sansa," he said and reached for her hand. "I'm sorry. I know this isn't how –"

"Don't apologize," she said as she took his other hand. "There was never going to be a good way for him to learn the truth. At least now we can stop hiding."

"Should I go with you?" He didn't like the idea of her going to Petyr's on the heels of this news. There was no telling how he was going to react.

"No." He gave her a look to indicate it hadn't really been a question. "He's not going to hurt me, not like that. I can bear his lecture, I've been preparing for it since you asked me out," she assured him. Jon exhaled loudly to show his disapproval. "You being there will only make it worse. You know that. Trust me, please."

"I don't like it," he said after a long moment.

"I'll come by Oathkeepers right after. I promise." He exhaled again and then finally nodded.

"I don't like it," he repeated.

"I know, but this is the way it needs to be."