Chapter is up! Thank you so much for reading!

Carlypso: Would someone dare to say no? It's Jon, for God's sake, hehe.

Disclaimer: I do not own GoT or ASOIF, if I did, a lot of things would be different.


Chapter XII – River deep, mountain high

| Jon POV |

I stared at Lily straight in the eyes, waiting for her reply; her mouth was a little open and she blushed furiously. I knew I was asking much from her, she probably never thought about leaving the Night's Watch.

But neither did I, not until days ago, when she said we had to end our relationship. It killed me to hear that and then I realized that I didn't want to do something illegal and against our oath, I didn't want to be caged in a place I didn't feel like I belonged to.

"Jon… Are you being serious?" Lily finally said something, still with shock on her face and I slowly got closer. "I am… You are the only thing, the only one I want to be bounded with."

"Stop joking, Jon, it isn't funny…" She had shrunken a little bit and looked really vulnerable, her blue eyes looking into mine with so much emotions. "I am not joking. We can go on with this, hiding how we feel and pretending nothing ever happened. We could even go back to sneaking in to be together. Or we could run away and stop fooling ourselves pretending we are happy on the Wall."

I touched her arms gently, pulling her closer against my body in a gentle embrace, Lily didn't move away and leaned her head against my chest. "You don't have to answer right away, I can wait as long as you need… But don't ignore me, it hurts too much."

We sat there, on the freezing snow, but it didn't matter, I didn't feel cold because her body was against mine and it kept me warm. I knew she was considering, she was a smart woman, she wouldn't rush into something without giving it much thoughts before.

"You won't regret…?" Lily asked after a really long time, not moving her head away from my chest. "I won't." I guaranteed her, kissing the top of her head gently.

"Yes… I want to be with you, without hiding, without the guilt…" I smiled widely and hugged her stronger, wishing I didn't have to let her go.

"I love you… I love you so much…" I said, hiding my face on her neck, I felt like crying of happiness. She wrapped her arms around my neck, bringing me closer and I closed my eyes, feeling all the fear and insecurity going away.

"I love you too, Jon…" Lily whispered and I pulled her closer, she wasn't wearing a mask and I took advantage of it, kissing her on the lips really gently.

"We should go back… Sam is probably getting worried." She said after a while and I nodded, getting up and then putting my clothes back on, the minute I let go of her body, the cold stroked really strong.

Lily too got dressed and we returned to our camp, her mask back on her face and I felt relieved that she had put it on, only I could see her face, it didn't matter who else knew her secret.

"You guys sure took long. Is everything alright?" Sam asked and I could guess that he was thinking that we had done something inappropriate out there. "Yes, everything is fine, we were talking."

"We still have a few hours before night, let's move." Lily said before Sam could make any comment and I felt really thankful and smirked. We gathered our stuff and resumed our walk, our speed was good considering that we had a pregnant woman with us; gladly we had taken one horse.

Lily led the way, but different from before, there was no cold aura coming out of her and she looked at me time to time and I could tell she was smiling because of the shine in her eyes, that made me smile.

Two hours later we set camp in a safe area near the river that was just north, it helped us not to lost track of the way we were supposed to go. Sam was preparing our food with Gilly while Lily looked at the map we had, I got near her and sat on the floor by her side.

"What is worrying you?" I asked, not needing to see her face to know that she was worried about something. "I am afraid we don't have enough food. We are camping here." She pointed to an area on the map. "And our destination is the Frostfangs here. On our speed, it should take around two more weeks."

"It doesn't look that far on the map." I said, tracing the way with one finger. "On the map it isn't. But we will have to walk on the Skirling Pass, it is known for habiting Wildlings." I could see why she was worried now.

"Winter is coming, they flee during winter. We can use it to our advantage. Also, we can keep walking near the edge of the river, avoiding the middle, where is more probable we will find Wildlings." I suggested and she kept looking at the map, thoughtful.

"I think I have underestimated you, Jon Snow." I smiled widely and Lily looked at me. "But we need to find more food, I hope all of you eat fish."

We ate and prepared to sleep, Lily wouldn't, like always, she never slept, even though it wasn't her time to keep watch. Sam was laying with Gilly on a corner, I swear they are getting too close.

Lily sat next to me, her eyes alert to our surroundings, but I was more interested on watching her than paying attention to the places around us.

"Is there something on my mask?" She asked after hours of silence and I jumped at the sound of her voice, blushing because she had realized I was indeed staring, still she hadn't looked at me once. "No, but I find it very interesting to watch every move you make."

"I am not moving." She replied and I smiled. "Your eyes are." She looked at me for the first time and I stared down to her icy blue eyes, differently from when he met, they were warm now.

I gently removed her mask, reveling her face, she was blushing slightly, I could see it despise the darkness around us. I touched her face with one hand and she leaned in to my touch, closing her eyes. I looked at Sam and Gilly, they were still asleep, good for me.

Slowly I leaned in and touched her lips with mine, I missed her soft lips, she didn't seem hesitant to begin moving her lips against mine and I smiled. It started as a slow and kind kiss, but I leaned closer to deepen it, feeling one of Lily's hands on my thigh.

She stepped back, touching my lips with her index finger to prevent me from getting close again. "They are sleeping right there…" She pointed her head to Sam and Gilly and I understood what she meant, but didn't care.

I touched her legs, kissing her finger gently, she laughed shortly. "Behave well, Jon…" I crossed my arms stubbornly and in frustration and sit back normally. I felt Lily's head laying on my shoulder and smiled, wrapping an arm around her shoulder to keep her close and warm.

"Rest, my love." I said and she slowly nodded, she cuddled a little more and I knew after a while she had slept.

~\~/~

When the sun had begun to come out, Sam woke up and looked at us, a giant blush appearing on his face and his eyes focused on Lily. I held her closer carefully not to wake her up and frowned, I didn't want him looking at her.

Without a word, he stepped behind a tree and I returned my attention to the woman sleeping against me peacefully. When Sam got back, he tripped on a hidden piece of wood and made quite some noise when he fell on the ground, making Lily and I to get up quickly to look, she surely was a light sleeper.

"It's just me." Sam called and we sat back down, sighing. She rubbed her hands on her face and eyes, still sleepy and I smiled, kissing her cheek to gain her attention, she turned to me and smiled.

"Good morning." Lily said and I kissed her on the lips, since she still hadn't put her mask back on and there wasn't anyone looking. She slapped me on the head playfully and I could see her cheeks becoming red.

"We need to get food today." She reminded, putting her mask on her face and I nodded, stretching my body after sitting for hours. "Let her sleep, Sam, you watch over her?" Lily asked, turning to Sam when he tried to wake Gilly up.

"Yes, sure." He said, a little nervous and I knew he wouldn't be of much help if someone attacked them while we were gone, but he wouldn't be useful fishing either.

Lily and I walked to the river just a little north from our camp and stared at the water, it was beginning to get frozen.

"Any experience fishing, Snow?" Lily asked. "No, you, Peis?"

"Nope. I guess we will have to improvise." She took the sword out of her sheath, she never used it. She sat on the edge of the river, staring at the water, I copied her movements.

It took us a really long time to get a few fishes, but at least we had succeeded on doing so, we wouldn't come back empty handed.

We returned to the camp to see that Gilly was up and talking to Sam, nothing had happened while we were away and it was a relief. We ate before beginning to walk again, we still had a long way to go.

In another two days we got to the other part of the river we had to cross before arriving on the Skirling Pass, we could already hear the keening sound of the wind and it sent chills down my spine.

I felt Lily's hand on mine and I realized I had been still for a couple of minutes, I smiled reassuringly. The river was frozen and I threw a rock to see if it was solid enough to cross, the ice didn't break.

"Let's go slowly, it isn't large so we will go each one at a time. Jon, you first." Lily said and I nodded, I would go first to secure the area before we made an unprepared girl cross it.

I took the first step hesitantly, but the ice didn't shake and it gave me more confidence to go. Slowly I crossed and looked around to see if it was safe. I made a positive signal for Gilly to cross with the horse, she did it slowly and successfully.

"You go, Sam." I heard Lily say and he did it really slowly and I could see the fear on his face, but nothing happened and he crossed all the way, kneeling down on the ground after he was safely on solid ground.

It was Lily's time and we had seen that the river was safe, there was no reason to fear. Or so we thought. She was halfway from crossing the river completely when the ice broke and she didn't have time to react, she fell on the water.

I panicked.

| Lily POV |

I thought the river was safe, if not a horse and one chubby man were capable of breaking it, I wouldn't be, since I am much lighter. But when I was almost making it, the ice broke and I immediately felt the freezing water hitting my body.

I didn't have time to catch a breath before falling on the water, so my lungs were screaming for air and I moved my arms and legs quickly to try to return to the surface, but my muscles protested because of how cold the water was.

The more I fought, the more I felt like I was being pulled to the bottom of the river, but I kept swimming up. My vision was becoming blurry because of the lack of air and I didn't know for how long I already was underwater, it felt like hours, but it was mostly likely two or three minutes.

It was all becoming black and I was almost stopping moving when I felt something grab my arm strongly and seconds later I was on the surface, breathing heavily for air, my lungs hurt so badly.

I felt myself being carried for a while, then my body hit the snowy ground, but I still couldn't see normally.

"Ly… Lily!" I heard Jon's voice becoming louder, he was screaming my name. It took me a while to recover my senses and look at him, he was completely wet and I knew that he had jumped after me.

"Stupid… You could have gotten yourself killed…" I said while taking my mask off to breathe properly, still having trouble to do so since my lungs were hurting and I wasn't catching enough air. I could only imagine how lifeless I looked.

Jon didn't answer and I saw his face getting closer, his lips touched mine and I felt air coming into my mouth, he was giving me his air, he backed away just an inch to catch more air and then touched my lips again. Jon repeated the process a few times before I could breathe right.

I touched the back of his head, not letting him pull away and his heroic act became a kiss, so full with emotions and I could sense his fear as his lips moved against mine strongly.

He moved away after a couple of minutes and I felt my cheeks hot, I was probably blushing. I looked around to see that Sam and Gilly had their backs turned to us and blushed even harder.

"I am fine, Jon…" I said weakly, my throat hurt and so did the rest of my body. Even after I reassured Jon I was feeling alright, he held me close against his wet body with so much strength, I didn't fight, I couldn't fight, I didn't want to.

"Come, Gilly, let's set a camp." I heard Sam saying, but didn't look up, my eyes were closed and I felt comfortable.

"We need to take your wet clothes." Jon said, slowly letting go of me and I nodded. He walked to our horse and took both mine and his clothes out of two bags and returned to sit next to me. Sam and Gilly weren't near, luckily.

Jon stripped and changed first, I wanted to look away, but couldn't, his eyes locked on his body and I blushed when he saw me staring, but simply smiled.

"Do you need help?" He asked once he was fully dressed and dried. "Yes, please, my body hurts…" I answered and took off my heavy coat.

I raised my arms so he could take my shirt off and he positioned himself behind me before he took it off, avoiding to look at me at all costs and I smiled. I felt his lips touching my neck and I shivered, but he did nothing more than just kiss my skin lightly.

Jon helped me put another shirt and then I got up, untying my breeches to take my pants and I could sense Jon's eyes on my legs when it fell on the ground. He had seen me naked before, but I felt incredibly nervous this time, it was still very bright and he could see me perfectly.

"Stop staring, Jon." I muttered and he looked away, blushing. I quickly got dressed with dried and warm clothes. "You can look now." I told him.

"Who said I stopped looking?" I blushed furiously and turned only my face to look at him, his face was red and he was staring at me. "Pervert." He simply laughed and got close, hugging me from behind.

"Let's rest for a while." Jon said on my ear and I breathed deeply when the air hit my skin, making me shiver. "Alright…" I knew we were wasting time, but my body wasn't obeying correctly, we needed to rest.

I could see the mountains right in front of us, one more obstacle we would have to face. I hoped it was worth it.