Dany
Why was he looking at her like that? He wasn't even hiding it… cu, no… The effect he had was annoying though, cheeks burning, the butterflies fluttering making it even harder to concentrate on whatever Robb was droning on about and the worst part? He did it all the way back to the damn tents, idiot! On the way down, she found herself glancing up at him, trying to figure him out. It wasn't surprising that he went to therapy but she knew she'd hit a nerve with the way the Starks tensed up despite how Jon seemed to take it in stride. What was the story? They hadn't spoken at all, about what happened over the years, did they even need to? Dany still had no idea what they were doing, but she was enjoying it. Isn't that all that mattered?
Arya continued to moan about the lake and as such the plan was to head back to camp, get changed and then race the lake pitting boys against girls. The winners of the race had the opportunity to earn a lazy night while the losers cooked and did all the chores. Getting ready, she sent Jon out the tent while she changed, rather nervous at the lithe bikini she was wearing wishing to god she brought a bathing suit instead. Taking a deep breath she called him in mouth going dry as he emerged through the flap hair loose and flowing as he pulled it back into a tight bun, she wanted to grab it. Run her fingers through it though as she looked into his eyes, those dark eyes that seemed to draw over her from head to toe, bugger.
"Stop staring," he looked up, shaking his head slightly as he pushed passed and sprawled on their bed closing his eyes. She watched him intently as he peeked open an eye and turned to look again, "Stop staring," she laughed as he closed his eyes again rolled away from her. The muscles in his back and arms shifting under his lightly tanned skin, Dany bit her lip following the curve of his ample arse, she knew what else was hidden under his shorts… felt enough of it earlier.
"I wasn't staring," She rolled her eyes as he laid on his back.
"What were you doing then?"
"Well, I'm in the market for a new bikini," he dragged his tongue across his bottom lip, making a show of looking her up from head to toe, "I think that one would do, where did you get it from?" Dany stood unmoving, refusing to let herself get affected by his gaze, shaking her head, as the stupid grin stretched across his face,
"Sorry Jon, the shop specifically doesn't sell to arseholes." She turned away to grabbing a towel and her dressing gown because she would no doubt need it.
"So you broke in then?" Jon shot back she paused what she was doing to look back at him and that shit-eating grin she so desperately wanted to wipe off his stupid face.
"Rude," she frowned turning away "and just think I've been really nice to you as well," she sighed loudly shaking her head only to gasp as Jon's fingers pulled her back against him. His toned chest, those foreign scars pressing against her back and she leaned back against him as his arms wrapped around her. When did they become this familiar? In the recess of her mind, she wanted to flee but an overpowering flutter wanted to stay.
"You have been really nice to me, thank you," she smiled as he moved slightly and pulled her down to the bed so that they were spooning, only this time she rolled over so she could see him,
"I wouldn't get used to it," she smiled her attention taken by the scars against his chest and she couldn't help reach for them, tracing a finger along the first, eyes mapping the second and then the third…
"You look like you're bristling with questions over there," she shook her head pulling away from him to meet his gaze forcing a smile to her face,
"Questions that I don't think you'll want to answer."
"Not yet, it's a long story but maybe later. If you still want to hear it," she was pulled back against and she pushed him back shaking her head as he pulled her along for the roll. She ended up taking her position from the morning watching as his hand moved as if to hide the scars, poorly at that. Whatever the story it still had an effect on him,
"If you ever want to talk, I'm here."
"Thank you, the same goes for you, you know," he smiled reaching out and pulling her to lay down against his chest, the position was entirely too intimate, hells everything they were doing was too intimate… It didn't matter though, as she rested her head on his shoulder doing her best not to over think everything. "I was thinking, you up for our own little wager?"
"What do you have in mind?"
"Well, I fancy my chances in the race," she snorted sitting back just enough so she could see him,
"Is that so," "and what is it you want out of this race you have no chance of winning?"
"You know, after last night I thought I wanted to boss you around," he shook his head slightly, "Now if I win the sleeping bags stay like this with the stipulation that you can't wear anything in the bags…" he whispered the last part and she could only gape at him, he wanted fucking what?
"What?"
"Why do you care, you're going to win anyway remember…"
"I do-don't…" she blew out a breath sitting up, "It's just… fucking hell…" he laughed his chest shaking under palms, he had to be fucking joking. A smug grin on his face as he settled down as if he didn't think she would, "You know what… Fine, if I win you have to share my tent for the rest of the week but you can't kiss or touch me for the rest of the night…" his face softened and he sat up, and she found herself leaning into him, fuck…
"I think it's adorable you want to share your tent with me all week," the words were whispered against her lips, eye's closing, no. Dany pulled back,
"It's only so I'm left to my own devices. We wouldn't be doing any of this…" she laughed as he winked, or tried to with both eyes, "We won't!" she shook her head thinking about the lake and the wagers. The race was one thing but she could think of a few other challenges they could do. "How about we have a breath-holding contest too?"
"Okay, and what do you want out of it?"
"No, you first."
"Well, I feel inclined to pick one for the rest of the week now, so let's say if I win. We pair up on all the activities," he shrugged.
"That doesn't sound so bad actually," it really didn't. She hadn't really thought about the activities that they'd end up playing.
"What, are you going to let me win?"
"Dream on, No I'm going to kick your arse and make you do whatever I say all night again," Jon rolled his eyes, looking as if he was trying to size her up,
"I'm starting to think you just like being in charge."
"Or, maybe I just like annoying you?"
"Oh, don't think I hadn't noticed," she laughed as he shook his head. Dany took her position from before resting her head on his shoulder, deciding to let herself enjoy his warmth before they had to endure the awful cold of the lake. There were no two ways about it, it was going to be absolutely freezing, but she was determined to win.
Jon, in the end, urged them on, if it had been up to her she would have stayed in the tent a little while longer though it did give them a chance to do the other challenge first. Placing her towel at the side of the lake and forgoing her dressing gown because she didn't want it to get wet, she toed the water pulling back so quickly she nearly fell over. Arya wasn't kidding… It was absolutely fucking freezing!
The stakes had defiantly risen this time around though, to be honest pairing up didn't actually seem that bad, doing all the stupid couples activities as old friends felt better than being paired up with Daario or Theon who were the only other single guys there. Still, she wasn't going to let him win, and he definitely didn't need to know she took up swimming over the years.
"Are you ready?" she asked looking up at him. He was already shaking his head as he crouched and cupped a handful of water in his hands.
"I'm about as ready as I'll ever be. What about you?"
"Not in the slightest," he smiled sympathetically before he moved behind her, his fingers interlocked against her stomach and she shivered as he nuzzled behind her ear.
"Well… let me know how it goes…" before she had time to react to his words she was thrown forwards, eye's slamming shut on instinct as the cold water enveloped her. FUCK, FUCK, FUCK… Dany climbed to the surface taking in a deep breath shivering as she looked up at him still stood at the side of the fucking water laughing his arse off, what a cunt! Jon smiled brightly as he took a few steps backwards before he was running and leaping, and cannon balling. Cunt, she turned her face away in time hugging herself as Jon resurfaced behind her attempting to pull her back only she pulled away and whacked him. "H-how w-was it?"
"I-I F-FUCKING HATE YOU," she bit out through gritted teeth, glaring at him even as she let him pull her closer. He wasn't much warmer, but some heat was better than nothing. "F-f-fuck i-it's s-s-so c-cold," Jon hummed in agreement as he moved them to a slightly deeper part of the lake. Once they were in position Jon pulled away and she couldn't help punch him again, her arms feeling weak and achy and she hadn't been in the water for more than 5 minutes.
"R-ready?" he asked, she could tell that the water had started to affect him and that's the only satisfaction she could take out of the entire ordeal as she took a deep breath and tried to relax as best she could in the freezing water. As she calmed down the shivers started to dissipate and as she opened her eyes, she found Jon watching her with a smile on his face.
"L-let's do i-it," she said,
"3,"
"2, 1, Go," they counted down together bobbing on one before diving under the surface on go, the water was just as bad as the first time. The cold was almost burning her skin, and she floated hugging herself and hoping that she could endure. It didn't feel likely, though she knew all she had to do was last longer than Jon. Jon, who was just in front of her, she could feel the gentle waves coming from his every movement so she would thankfully know when he gave up. All she had to do was hang on. There were the tail tale signs that her body was becoming wary of the cold, stomach muscles tensing, arms tightening and the teeth chattering.
Dany wasn't sure how long she had held her breath but she wouldn't be able to last much longer, suppressing the shivers made it harder. It was the rush of water to the surface and she counted to 5 in her head before following after him. Taking in a lungful of air she clung to Jon a smile on his face as he navigated them towards the shallows. She was unsure what was worse, the water, or the cold burn on her face from the air. They still needed to swim the fucking thing too.
Jon sat on a ledge under the water, and she followed after her sitting on his knee, wrapping her legs around his waist and pressing herself against him in search of warmth. He was just as cold, his muscles hard and tense but that wasn't a surprise. There was no point of climbing out to get warm only to climb back in again either so she rested her head on his shoulder the water at a level with her shoulder despite the position.
"C-congr-fuck, Well d-done," she smiled as he tightened his hold, at that very moment it didn't feel like a win but the plus side was she had the entire day to turn it into one, if she could survive the swim…
"M-may-b-be it'll f-feel l-like a win later," she smiled clinging to him for the little warmth they could create in the water as they waited for the rest of them to get their arses into gear. Not even bothering to break apart when they heard the chatter of everyone else approaching.
"Aww look at you two," she could have rolled her eyes at Margaery's playful tone though instead, she shivered as she pulled away from Jon and attempted to sit next to him only the water was too deep. Jon laughed pulling her back on his knee, his fingers on her hips, skin burning for another reason though it was gone as quickly as it came overpowered with the cold.
"I-I-it's c-cold y-you kn-n-now," she hugged herself as she looked up at Marg stood at the edge of the lake,
"Come on Dany we have a lazy night to win," Marg said, she was stood next to Missy with her dressing gown wrapped tightly around her. If she was cold already, there was no chance she was lasting in this.
"M-Marg, y-you a-aren't last-t-ting 5 m-minutes," Margaery flung her dressing gown onto the floor before stretching like some kind of prized athlete. Arya laughed at the display before she took a running leap and dove into the lake. She broke the surface with a growl as she turned to look at them,
"I t-tol-ld yy-ou it w-was FUCKING COLD," Arya didn't look happy and Dany tried to laugh though she ended up shivering again as Jon rubbed along her arms gently under the water. Margaery finished her stretching to kneel at the side of the water to feel how cold it was, she recoiled from the water as if she'd been burned looking down at it horrified,
"You have to be fucking kidding me."
"Come on love, in you go," Robb did his best to guide her into the water but Margaery was unmoving shaking her head in disbelief.
"Robb, we can't swim in that,"
"Come on Marg we'll do it together," Missy said grabbing Marg's hand, You'd think the two were about to walk off a cliff's edge with the hesitancy and in the end, all it took was a little push from Robb and the both of them were screaming. Dany wanted to laugh, but it was getting to the point where the cold was actually beginning to hurt, and it seemed the cold was more than enough for everyone, well except Grey who just stepped into the water unbothered, like that was fucking normal.
"Oh god, c-can w-e just GET ON WITH IT." Margaery was almost climbing on Robbs back in a poor attempt to get out of the cold.
"Robb, you call it," said Grey sounding as unaffected as ever, what the fuck?
"I-I s-swear Gr-grey y-y-your s-ome k-kind o-of robot," Robb was shaking his head at Grey in disbelief as he ducked under the water pulling Marg along for the ride,
"N-No" Margaery screamed doing her best to push Robb miscalculating the depth and following after him, until Robb shot up pulling Margaery close, she was still pouting almost shaking like a leaf as they moved into a line readying up to race. Dany pulled away from Jon squeezing his hand lightly before hitting the line as well, she still hadn't forgotten about him pushing her in and she would get him back but for now, she had a race to win. If only she could feel her fingers… She rubbed her palms together searching for the warmth though it didn't seem to work,
"Who's calling it?" Grey asked, the fact that he was so relaxed about it bothered her,
"S-som-things f-fucking wrong with y-you," Gendry bit out he was scowling rubbing his arms in desperation to get warm,
"It's not that bad guys, stop complaining." Not that bad? Maybe Robb was right and Grey was a fucking robot…
"O-oh fuck off," Arya said shivering in the water, "L-let's just get on with it," Dany agreed ducking underwater, body feeling sluggish and tired, while her fingers were cold and numb."3… 2…"
"JUST FUCKING GO," Marg growled, Dany pushed forwards arms tensing up, hands numb watching Arya charge ahead followed by the guys. At the starting point was Missy and Marge huddled together. "W-we h-hav-ve A-Arya" Margaery said as they quickly climbed out the water only to be assaulted by the cold. Wrapping the towel around herself she darted back to the tent drying as thoroughly as she could before grabbing her joggers and Jon's hoody and heading to the fire in search of some warmth. Shit… It hit her suddenly; She lost the wager, Shit, shit, shit… There was no thought in her head about the repercussions to losing, only the cold. The stupid fucking cold. So tonight, the bags stayed connected, and she wasn't allowed to wear clothes in the damn things, great… She could boss him about though; make him sleep in a field even. If only she was a heartless bitch. Dany was still stressing about the wager when she made it back to camp finding Margaery sat wrapped in Robbs coat poking the fire with a stick,
"No, missy?" Dany asked taking a seat as close to the fire as she could to the fire, thankfully Marg had a pan on with two mugs to make some drinks,
"She's gone for a nap, between staying up all night and enduring that hell, she's all worn out," Marg grinned and Dany laughed knowing it was probably true, just the lake tired her out…
"I'm feeling it too, to be honest," she moved to make the drinks quickly handing the drink over to Margaery before she took her seat again. Even without looking at her Dany could tell she was staring and with this being the first time they'd been alone since they had started their camping trip she knew where this was going.
"So, you and Jon…"
"We're just rekindling our friendship," she said quickly, hearing the guys laughing and cheering in the distance.
"I don't think you realise how bloody stubborn you two are. You despise each other; refuse to talk about or to each other. You won't go to events where the other was… Yet under all that bullshit was this wonder, or perhaps longing. You wondered about him."
"N-"
"Don't, I've gotten to know him a lot over the years and that was with your 'cunt of an ex' label over his head. I don't know what happened, but I've seen you these last few days. I don't think I've ever seen you smile this much," Margaery sighed as she looked into her eyes, "You still have feelings for him."
"Yeah in the way I have feelings for Robb or Grey," she shot back, scrambling for a way to end the conversation for good.
"Should I be worried?" Margaery grinned and she couldn't help but roll her eyes,
"The truth is, we're just making this part of the trip bearable for each other and rekindling our friendship. I don't want to over think things and I don't want to start getting my hopes up, so, for now, I have tonight and 4 more days to enjoy our trip before we go back to the real world," she took a drink of her coffee enjoying the burn down her throat before she turned back to Margaery, "Do you think Robb's got the message yet?" Marg rolled her eyes,
"I've decided I'm going to ask him…" Marg said shyly,
"What, when?" she sat and listened intently to all the ideas Margaery had when it came to asking Robb to marry her. There was no specific plan yet, but she had lots of ideas, one more extravagant than the last though it was clear Marg hadn't yet settled on a single one. Sitting there and listening to the ideas, she heard everyone getting out of the lake and curses that accompanied them but she wasn't ready to head back yet, thank gods Margaery had so many ideas…