Hi! Here's the new chapter!

I'm scared that you will hate me for this one – please don't, some things can still change. There are so many reasons you could hate me, especially because this is as good to the Baratheons as this season. I know at least a few people will like one of the things other people will hate me for – JadeA'.

Sorry if I've scared you now, but please read on. Next chapter, due to how this one ends, will only have on POV, so I can post quicker.

Also since I've been writing a bit ahead, I'll maybe get to the Valentine's Day chapter soon, and while one POV is chosen, things are still opened for the other. Would you prefer an "outside" POV like Selwyn at the dance, which will cover more people? Or you can suggest a character/couple?

Once again, thank you so much to my amazing beta – drownedbyyourstandards on AO3 (myrish-swamp or wetwasteofagirl on tumblr).

Enjoy!

Elia Martell

Elia was getting ready for her date, and while she wasn't too excited about the date itself, she liked going through the ritual of getting reading. Right now, Ashara was fixing her hair – she was doing a traditional Dornish braid.

"I still think you should go with the jeans I picked up for you. They will make your ass look great."

"I don't particularly need my ass to look great. And I like my jeans."

"You said you were giving this guy a chance."

"I told my mom that, not you. I don't even know his name, he's just a family friend."

"But he could be great. You could finally move on."

"If he's so great, I won't need to enhance my ass."

"Good point. But you could enhance your ass, for you… or me. I quite like your ass."

"Shut up," Elia told her smiling, used to her joking. "What are you doing tonight by the way?"

"I invited Ellaria over to watch a movie, she said she would bring over food."

"Are you trying to take advantage of me being out? I can stay out longer if you want."

"No, no need. Please come home," Ashara told her immediately. "But no need to come earlier either. Just come when you're ready."

"So you're not dating or anything..."

"No. We make out some times, but nothing more. I think she wants to do more, but she won't pressure me." Ashara had already told her about that; she always came to Elia's room after she came from spending time with her "girlfriend". They would lie in her bed, and Ashara would speak. Elia hadn't actually seen her this nervous about her love life for years; she had been confident in her love life and sexuality for years, so this was new. "Will you make out with your date tonight?"

"Probably not. First date, with a guy I don't even know," Elia answered. "I know there's nothing wrong with that. But it's not my way."

"Yeah. I know you don't judge me," Ashara said, smiling. "Stand up, darling," she said, extending her hand. Elia took her hand, and looked at herself in the mirror, and quite liked how she looked – sophisticated, beautiful, but still herself. "He won't be able to resist you."

I hope he does, she thought. She really wasn't ready to have a guy all over her. And once again, she second guessed her choice to agree to go on this date. She just wanted to put on her pyjamas, and watch a movie, or she could even stay in her room and read a book, so Ashara and her friend could have privacy.

"I'll walk you to the taxi row," Ashara suggested, and Elia gave up on the idea of staying home, and took Ashara's proposal, picking up her bag. Ashara gave her a kiss before she got in the cab.

She gave the cab driver the address of the restaurant that her mother had given her; it was in the Westerlands, near Casterly Rock. The drive was silent as she looked out the window. She tried to go over all the families her mother knew, that had boys around her age, but she came up with very few names.

"Lady, we're here," the driver called. She immediately paid him, and left the bus. And taking a deep breath, she walked up to the restaurant; she noticed a boy about her age, took another deep breath and walked up to him.

"I'm Elia Martell. Are you…?"

"Yes. Baelor Hightower. My family knows yours, my mother thought this would be a good idea," he said, giving her passage to enter the restaurant first.

Elia was never going to trust her mother to fix her up with anyone again – this was the worst date she had ever gone on, and an awful way to re-enter the dating world. It wasn't like Baelor was ugly or anything, and he was nice too – polite and everything – but just a bit too much into himself (and not to mention that she was sure he had farted during the main meal, covering the noise, with a laugh out of context).

They barely could find common ground. She had hoped her date would be Dornish. She missed her home and it would be good to talk about it with someone who knew it, but he was from Oldtown, in the Reach. Finally they found some topic, so she spent the second half of her date, after he had talked enough about himself, talking about Arthur.

Baelor seemed to know him from the tennis team, and she couldn't remember her life before Arthur. She hadn't talked to him in quite a long time now, since Ashara was still pissed at his behaviour. Elia had thought that maybe she should talk to him and reassure him that she didn't have a problem with Ashara dating a Stark (or that he was still friends with Rhaegar).

So they mostly shared stories about Arthur, which wasn't what she had hoped. Thinking about Arthur made her mind quickly drift to Rhaegar – how he usually played with her fingers as they talked, or how when they went on dates, paper towels always ended up ruined in restaurants, with them doodling and playing noughts and crosses.

"You haven't told me how you met him."

"Ohhh… we go back years. I have known him since I was a child. He didn't live far from my house, and I was in the same class as his sister. Actually, I'm currently living with his sister."

"So you live without any adults?"

"I do."

"Ohhh… my parents wouldn't have trusted me to live alone when I was your age."

"My mother does, and Ashara's mother trusts us too," she told him. Elia knew that Ashara's mother had only let her move because she trusted Elia to look after her.

"Wait… Ashara… I know that name."

"Maybe Arthur has mentioned it."

"No… I think I went on a date with her a few months back. I gave her my number, but she never called back. Didn't she mention me?" Elia couldn't remember names, but Ashara had actually mentioned an awful date with a guy that only talked about him, and that had farted, possibly the same person.

"No, don't think so," she lied, actually not really lying – she didn't know the name. Baelor's face fell.

"Ohhh… please don't tell Arthur I went out with his sister."

"I won't."

"So do you want to do something after dinner? Maybe the movies, or a drink?" he suggested.

"Sorry, I can't. I promised my roommate I would come home quickly." She didn't think she could handle more time with him.

"Ohhh. Are you sure? Maybe we can meet up next time I'm in town."

"Maybe…" she said not wanting to commit to that, before turning back to her plate – at least the food was good.

Once again after they had exhausted the topic of Arthur Dayne, he started talking about himself again, and she wanted to pull her hair out – not that she would do it, or even mention that he should talk about him a little less.

Elia quickly finished her meal, and excused herself to the bathroom. Resting against the wall, she dialled the house number, and waited for Ashara to pick up.

"Hello."

"It's me, Ash."

"Ells, why are you doing calling me? Is the date that bad? Or it went so well, that you're calling me to tell me you're not coming home."

"First option. Actually, you went on a date with him too."

"Ohhh… please tell me I'm not at fault for you awful date?" Ashara asked, and she could hear the guilt in her voice.

"No, it was already awful, before we realized that piece of information."

"Elia, you know that not every guy can be Rhaegar."

"It's not about that, Ash. He just didn't shut up about himself, he barely asked me anything."

"That doesn't shorten the options. What's his name?"

"Baelor Hightower."

"Ohhh… Gods… Baelor…" she said laughing. "I told your brother about him, actually. He came up with a nickname for him – Baelor Breakwind." Why? Elia heard a voice ask on the other side of the phone. "He farted during the date, more than once."

"Shut up! He did now too…" she said laughing. "Shut up, I still need to face him again."

"Breakwind! Breakwind!" Ashara chanted from the phone, and then she could hear another voice as well.

"Please stop, Ash. I still need to go back out there."

"Okay… Do you want me to call you with an emergency?" she asked. "I would get you out of there."

"No need. Dinner is almost over, and I already said that I'm not doing anything after dinner."

"Sure, if you come home quickly – you can still catch the movie with me and Ellaria." But Elia didn't plan to interrupt their date, and she knew the taxi would take a while to get home.

"Have fun, Ash. I'll see you back home."

"Bye, love. Enjoy Breakwind." Elia laughed again, turned off the phone, and put it back on her pocket.

"Ohhh… I was getting worried," Baelor said when she came back. "You took a while."

"Sorry I got a call while I was in the bathroom." It was close enough to the truth.

They finished dinner quickly enough, Elia denied his offer of dessert, so he ordered the bill, and paid. She offered to pay her half, but he didn't let her, saying that since he invited her, he would pay.

They walked out of the restaurant, and he offered to drive her home – in a way that she knew he expected and wanted her to say no, which was expected, since it would be completely out of the way.

"No need, thank you. I'll just call for a taxi," she told him.

"Are you sure?" he asked, and she nodded. "Can I get your number?"

"I…" she wanted to say no, but she didn't think it would be appropriate; after all he had been nice, even if she didn't plan to go on a date with him again. "Okay, I think so. But I'm not sure if I have the time to go out again. School… and school paper… Maybe I could get your number and call if I have the time?" she suggested.

"Ohhh… sure…" he said, and she took out her phone and gave it to him. He dialled it quickly, before giving it back and she saved the number, almost writing Breakwind instead of Hightower.

She walked him to the car, and saw him get into the car and leave. Since there was still enough light out, she started walking to the taxi row nearby; but something stopped her – she noticed an ice cream shop, and since it was a rather warm January night, she walked in.

The store was really small, and cosy, and she wondered how they still kept doing business in the winter.

"Good evening. Do you need any help?" the lady behind the counter asked, as Elia looked at the listing high on the wall.

"I would like a scoop of ice cream, please."

"We have fewer flavours right now, but you can choose." Elia looked over the flavours. Some were too sweet, and she heard her mother's voice telling her they had too much sugar.

"Raspberry, please."

"Sure. Cone or cup?"

"Cup, please." The girl took a scoop, and put it in a simple cup; Elia paid, and sat in a table by the window. While she ate, a couple entered took a seat at a table further away from the door, and shared a bowl of ice cream and drank hot chocolate. She was looking at them, absent-mindedly, when she heard a voice she knew.

"I thought you had a date tonight. What happened? Did he found out you were the ex-sweetheart of the ex-mayor's son?"

"No, he didn't. And didn't you have a date too?" she asked him back, knowing the news from the Spyder blog.

"Sure did. Just dropped the girl off at home."

"How did it go?!

"I think I need to get ice cream for myself too, before I go into that, if you don't mind me joining you."

"You can join me, Jaime, but only if your date was bad. I do not want to hear about uplifting dates."

"It wasn't, I promise you. Just getting ice cream," Jaime told her, going to the counter, and getting a cup with three scoops.

"Three, really?! Was it that bad?"

"Was that bad?! What was the worst about yours?" he asked, taking a seat in front of her.

"The guy kept talking about himself, and…"

"The girl kept talking about my sister," he interrupted her. "Really, this is why I don't date. Fuck, every girl I go out with just wants to talk about my sister."

Elia had a hard time believing that, after all Jaime was a handsome man – he reminded her of Rhaegar, actually; he was lean, tall and had light hair. "She thought this would help her feature in my sister's gang." Who would want to be part of Cersei's group? she wondered. "Are you wondering who would like to be with Cersei?"

"Was it that obvious?"

"I know you don't like my sister. Not sure if it's because of Ashara, or not… But you know my sister is not that bad, I don't get why people hate her."

"It's more like people fear her."

"And you don't?"

"I have Ashara behind me," she said smiling. The conflict between Cersei and Ashara was notorious, and Elia couldn't help but think that Cersei always made it more than it was.

"Ahhh… really?! I do have to communicate that to my sister, you know…"

"Family, first. Building an army, are you?" she said, and he laughed, before adding.

"Somehow, we ended up talking about my sister again."

"Ohhh… sorry about that. So what do you want to talk about, then?"

"How was your date? You were going to say something, before I stepped in." So Elia told him all about her date, as he added a few details about his own, and after a while she was laughing about her own date, and she did feel better.

"So what would you like to have talked about on your date?" Elia asked, pulling her feet up against the chair, holding her knees close, before remembering she wasn't home and looking at the waitress, who only gave her a nod. Jaime seemed deep in thought, and she took three spoonfuls of ice cream, one of each flavour, before answering.

"Not sure. Normal stuff, like what I talk about with Brienne – she's not hot or anything, so I won't date her. But she's good to talk to, you know. We may not always agree, but she fights me, and likes most things I do."

"You shouldn't judge only by her looks."

"I don't. I consider her my friend, after all."

"So what do you talk about?"

"Sports, mostly, but I'm sure that doesn't interest you." It doesn't, but she didn't like people to make assumptions about her. "I like theatre, actually – nobody talks to me about it… besides my little brother."

"That's really cool. I never acted, I don't think I would like to be in front of a crowd. But I read plays."

"I did Sweeney Todd for Christmas. And we're still trying to decide the one we're going to do next."

"Ohhh… Sweeney Todd – that story is awful. Who did you play?"

"Judge Turpin."

"Really?! You're too young, and…"

"… handsome," he said, flashing her a grin. "Yeah… my brother said the same. But we're mostly teens, so there weren't many choices."

"What would you like to do something?"

"Shakespeare. It's not like I've read any, but they are classics and it would be so good for my application if I had that to put in."

"They're great. Not just Romeo and Juliet either."

"I know. I think I would like to do Anthony and Cleopatra. I saw the movie years ago – my sister loves that kind of movie. It reminds her… yeah, she likes them." Jaime added the last part so quickly, she almost didn't catch it.

"Are you talking about the Elizabeth Taylor one? That's not actually an adaptation from the play. You do have someone – there was one by BBC around the time we were born."

"My brother said that too, but I chose to ignore him."

"How old is your brother?"

"Ten."

"And he reads Shakespeare?!" she said surprised; only Rhaegar started reading Shakespeare that early as well.

"He doesn't do much besides reading."

"But he does seem like an interesting boy."

"He is. He's…" Jaime was about to say something, when the ice cream lady interrupted them.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but we're about to close."

"Ohhh… of course," Elia said immediately, embarrassed that she had forgotten what time it was. They left the ice cream shop, and the night was still quite warm for January, nothing compared to what would be in Dorne, but still… Somehow, once again distracted by their conversation, she followed him to his car.

"Do you wanna ride home?"

"Jaime, you live here. It would be completely out of the way."

"You know you should take the offer, I'm never this nice."

"I don't want to bother you."

"I'm having fun, aren't you?" The truth was that yes, she was having fun, like she hadn't in a while, at least with the male gender.

"Yes."

"So we'll keep talking in the car. Get in," he insisted, entering the car and waiting for her – she followed suit.

The drive was comfortable. He kept her talking most of the time; sometimes mostly he talked, since she was getting rather tired. When they finally made it to King's Landing, the topic changed to school, which Jaime didn't seem to like very much, since he was trying to changed it back again. Before she knew it, he was parking at the front of the Red Keep apartments, but she didn't leave the car, turning to him.

"So we're here," Jaime pointed out the obvious.

"I had fun tonight," she admitted, and Jaime was looking at her weirdly. She wished she could read his mind. Not sure what to do, and not wanting to leave, she unbuckled her seat belt, still looking at him. Before she realized what was happening, Jaime had fully turned to her and moved in to kiss her, and she leaned in as well.

She had never kissed anyone besides Rhaegar, and this wasn't the same; Jaime wasn't as gentle, and less experienced, but it still felt good. She had never admitted it, but she missed kissing someone, feeling someone's touch (his hands firmly around her waist).

"Why did you do that?" she asked, when they pulled back.

"It's not like you stopped me. You kissed me back," he said, getting defensive.

"I know," she said calmly. "I just wanted to know why you did it."

"I had a good night, tonight – fun, with a girl that cared about more than my sister's position, or money. And you're sexy."

People didn't call her sexy, Rhaegar called her beautiful, but not sexy.

"My situation is complicated…"

"Because of the star boy."

"Rhaegar…"

"Rhaegar is with Lyanna Stark," Jaime said, but he sounded surprisingly like Ashara.

"I know. What if tomorrow afternoon, you come over for lunch with Ashara and I?"

"A threesome, or something," he said laughing.

"Just lunch." And maybe some kissing, she thought.

"Okay. I think I can do that. I'll text if something comes up."

"I'll cook Dornish food." Jaime gave her a disgusted look. "There's no chance for this to work out if you don't give Dornish food a chance." He smiled at that. "Your sister is not invited," she told him.

"Yeah. Speaking of her, I'm sure Cersei is wondering where I am."

"Ashara too. So see you tomorrow." Once again she didn't know what to do, but he leaned forward and kissed her, and she kissed him back. "Tomorrow…" she whispered when she pulled back, and got out of the car. She walked to her building and entered, going up the stairs, until she reached her floor, and unlocked the door.

The room was dark, the only light coming from the TV. She came closer to the couch, and noticed two bodies sleeping – she supposed the other girl was Ellaria – and she turned off the TV.

"I was watching that," Ashara whispered, opening her eyes.

"You're awake?!"

"Waiting for you. Ellaria was keeping me company; she must have fallen asleep," she said, getting up from the couch, being careful with Ellaria's head that had been on her lap. "You took longer than expected. Did the date turned out better after the phone call?"

"No," she answered as they went into the kitchen, and Ashara got herself a cup of water.

"So what made you take so long? I was getting worried."

"I went out for ice cream, and kind of ran into Jaime Lannister."

"Lannister?!"

"Yes. We got to talking…"

"Right…"

"…And we kissed outside…"

"You kissed Jaime Lannister?!" she exclaimed rather loudly, before dropping her voice. "Jaime Lannister?!

"Yes. And I invited him for lunch tomorrow."

"You invited Jaime Lannister for lunch?!"

"Are you going to repeat everything I say?"

"Am I going to repeat everything you say?" she said, with a cocky smile. "But really I'm serious. Jaime Lannister?!"

"Yes. And Ellaria can come for lunch too. Double date?!"

"So it's a date…" Ashara said, before picking up her hand immediately. "Okay, we need a sleepover. Put on your pyjamas, I'll be in your room when I'm ready."

"And Ellaria?" Elia asked, and Ashara pulled out a piece of paper and a pen.

"Two minutes."

Elia got into her room and changed into her pyjamas, and sat on her bed, ready to tell everything that happened tonight to her best friend, and maybe, just maybe, figure out the mess her mind was right now.

Robert Baratheon

Robert hadn't been on a real date for a very long time; most of his meetings with girls during the last months had been finding someone in a bar and then disappearing into the bathroom.

He regretted agreeing to this date by now. This was nothing like it was with Lyanna; he never had to take her to a fancy restaurant (actually she would punch him if he did that). This girl kept up a rather forced conversation with him, talking about nothing that could ever be interesting.

He thought about leaving the damn restaurant while the girl was in the bathroom. He just didn't do it, because Catelyn had arranged it, and he didn't want to make her mad.

Really, it was fully Catelyn's fault that he was here. She had arranged this date, and she was the one that made him want to go in this stupid date in the first place.

He had been okay with just meeting the girls at bars, and fucking them in the nearest place available – it was better than powering through the entirety of this dinner and still not getting sex in the end. But Catelyn told him she knew this great girl that thought he was handsome; he should have guessed that her friend wouldn't put out. Catelyn and Ned had been dating for two months and he knew his friend was not getting any.

But he missed Lyanna, and it hadn't been just sex with her. They would talk and do tons of stuff together that didn't involve sex, like running, sports, fighting with sticks and playing games (sometimes they did that naked). And for a while Ned filled part of that void. He talked with Ned as easily as he talked with Lyanna, and they hung out – sure, it's not like he and Ned read comics in each other's arms, but it was enough of a substitute. And then Catelyn came into play – sure, he was happy his friend finally had a girlfriend, but Ned stopped spending as much time with him, and more with her, and now Robert didn't have anyone to talk to.

So it was Catelyn's fault that he tried to find someone else to talk to. But he knew he wouldn't ever find someone like Lyanna – there were no girls like her. So he would get sex while he waited to get her back – because she would be back, she would realize the silver haired shit didn't care for her like he did.

So that's why he managed a smile when the girl joined him at the table again. Complaining she was full, while her plate still had food on it – Lyanna would have eaten everything, he wanted to say. Lyanna always ate as much as he did, and she barely gained weight. Even when she did, she didn't mind (neither did Robert) but she would burn it off quickly – she would bring him along and they would run. Running helped keep Robert in shape too, something he only noticed after she left; he was gaining weight now, not enough to be considered fat, but still something. Some girl had mentioned it when they were making out, and he pushed her off the bed and told her to get out – only after, he realized that it was her home, and he left instead.

"Robert," he heard her call, and his attention was back on the girl in front of him. "Are you listening to me?"

"Of course, but could you repeat that?" The girl giggled at that, and asked him about what he planned to do after high school. It was an annoying question; he didn't like to think about this. But he would probably do business or law, some job that would help with his parents' company, and that was what he told her.

"Ohhh... a family man – I see why Catelyn likes you. Any brothers?"

"Two younger brothers." And neither does much, he thought.

"I wish I had siblings. Catelyn seems to have so much fun with hers. How old are they?"

"One is one year younger than me, and the youngest ten."

"You must be close with the middle one. That's a small age difference."

"Not really," he answered. She seemed to want him to develop his answer, but he didn't really want to.

"And your parents?"

"They are my parents. They have been away for the week in Essos, coming back tonight."

"Shouldn't you be there to welcome them back?!"

"We had already agreed on the date. They were actually supposed to get back yesterday, but the plane had problems, so they are travelling in today. My brothers are there, I'll see them when I get home."

"Are you sure that's okay? If you had explained that, I wouldn't have minded postponing for next week." Really, maybe he should have done that, not that it was that big of a thing to wait for them. He used to do that when he was younger, but not anymore. He would get home and see them, at breakfast tomorrow morning or before.

"Catelyn had planned this."

"Right, Catelyn. She has high hopes for this." Ohhh… Catelyn… why are you giving this girl false hopes?

"Catelyn – I don't think she actually told me how you know each other."

"I've already told you," she answered, a bit annoyed. "Same neighbourhood, same school as kids."

"Sorry. Slipped my mind. Where do you go to school?"

"At the Riverlands. Public school. You played against my school sometime before Christmas."

"We won, hopefully."

"Yeah… my friends are calling me a traitor for agreeing to go on this date."

"So why did you?"

"You look very good, Robert. And I found out Catelyn knew you personally. So one thing led to the other." He smiled at her. From the way she was talking, he considered that she may have sex with him tonight, but all the other signs said the opposite – her clothes and appearance, her gestures, but her voice gave him hope.

"You look good too. Pretty, very pretty." But he still liked Lyanna better – her toned body, her short height and long hair in a ponytail. But the girl didn't look bad, with dark hair too, but taller than Lyanna and with a bigger chest. Robert was trying to think of anything else to say when his phone rang.

"Sorry," he said, taking it out of his pocket. Not recognizing the number, he rejected the call.

"Maybe you should take it," she told him after the third consecutive ring.

"No, it's an unknown number. Probably publicity or something," he answered, but the phone rang again. This time it had caller ID – his brother, Stannis. "Okay, maybe I'll take it. It's my brother." Robert couldn't remember, when was the last time they had called each other? He accepted the call, turning his head from his date.

"What do you need, Stannis?" he whispered. "I'm in the middle of a date."

"Robert…" He heard his youngest brother's voice.

"Renly?! What are you doing with Stannis' phone?"

"You need to come here…" Renly said, before he heard some kind of noise, like dropping something.

"Sorry, are you Robert Baratheon? Oldest son of Cassana and Steffon Baratheon?" a female voice he didn't recognize asked.

"Yes, I am," he said confused, trying to muster a smile for the girl in front of him, looking worried.

"This is King's Landing Hospital. You should come here."

"Why?! What happened?"

"We'd prefer to talk in person." The woman didn't seem to budge, and luckily Robert was in King's Landing so it wasn't far.

"I'll be there in 20 minutes," he told the lady, before disconnecting the call. "I'm sorry, but I need to go," he told his date, while taking a few bills from his wallet. "I need to go to the hospital, something has happened."

"Do you need company?" she asked, standing up as well.

"No. Finish your meal," he said, pulling on his coat before walking to his car.

He entered his car quickly and started it. Maybe because he was too nervous, he couldn't get his car working on his first try, only on his third. He got out of the parking lot, and drove to the hospital, following signs since he didn't know the way by heart. Parking was hard when he arrived, but he finally found a place before running inside.

"My name is Robert Baratheon – I got a call saying to come here," he said when he reached the hospital entrance. The receptionist looked over some papers before telling him which floor he should go to, and that someone there would explain what happened.

He paced in the small elevator while an elderly couple holding a pair of balloons looked at him strangely; at the same time, neither the doctor nor the nurse spared him a look. When he got out of the elevator, he looked around, and noticing what looked like a table where he could ask for information, he went in that direction before he felt a pair of arms bump against him and circle his waist.

He looked down, and instinctively rested his hand on his head. Then he noticed it was his youngest brother; and looking up, he noticed Stannis coming over to him, looking grimmer than usual.

"What happened? Why is Renly…?"

"Didn't you see the news?" Stannis asked.

"I was on a date, Stannis. The restaurant had a TV, but it was on some movie."

"Come with me," Stannis said, and started walking. Robert followed him, still holding onto Renly, who was having trouble walking, and Robert could now hear hiccups.

"Come on, Stannis. Tell me what's going on? Renly is crying for God's sake." And before he knew it, he was in a waiting room full of people, some pacing or holding each other, and sitting with their heads in their hands. And then Robert noticed the TV – Breaking News: plane from Pentos crashes at the King's Landing Airport. There were images of the accident; there seemed to be firemen everywhere trying to put the fire out. "That was Mom and Dad's plane…"

Renly, hugging him tighter, gave him the answer.

"Yes, it was. Mother is under operation."

"And Dad?"

"I was told he died on impact. They didn't take him out of the plane before it went up in flames."

Robert couldn't believe it. He looked over the closest place to sit – he needed to sit down. All the places were taken, so he dropped onto the floor, resting against the closest wall.

His dad was dead… Dad was dead… Robert didn't know how to process that… only last week he had been with his dad. Only last week, his parents were being disgusringly sweet together. Robert wasn't supposed to lose his father this early. His parents were only supposed to be gone after he was an adult and had his life figured out – not now.

And thinking that Mom could die too…He wanted to ask Stannis if he knew anything about her state, but he wasn't brave enough to ask. Renly was next to him again, holding onto his arm, and he whispered something but Robert couldn't understand. Stannis was still up, against the wall as well.

Robert stayed in the same place, waiting for news. He saw the doctors come in, some people crying relieved for the safety of their family, and then other families crying for the loss of their loved ones. Robert was getting more scared at the notion that there wouldn't be good news for his mother either.

He had lost part of his family today, probably losing another; and he needed family to hold onto. He looked at Renly and Stannis, but they couldn't do it; it wasn't them he needed, so he took his phone and called Ned. But Ned's phone was turned off. Robert still tried calling two more times, but nothing changed – Ned was still not there.

So he held onto Renly, as it was the second best option (actually the fifth – but one didn't answer the phone, another died, another was lying on the operation table, and the other hadn't had a real talk with him since the summer). Stannis looked absently at the screen and the people around, but the three looked up when someone entered the waiting room, calling:

"Cassana Estermont Baratheon."

Robert and Renly stood, while Stannis started walking to the doctor, and Robert followed, resting his hand on Renly's shoulder.

"We are her children," Stannis said.

"Is any of you eighteen? I should…"

"There's no one," Robert intervened roughly. "Just tell us."

"I'm sorry…" the doctor started. "We were too late to be able to save her. She died on the operating table of…"

Robert couldn't hear anything else. Renly was fully crying now, hugging his waist, and he took him away, while Stannis stayed and finished listening to the doctor.

The people in the waiting room were now looking at them, some people close by gave up their seats for them; Robert helped Renly sat down, and then looked down to the chair next to it – one look, two looks and a third look, before turning his head to the door.

"Please, don't go," Renly whispered, holding onto his wrist as Robert turned to the door. But he couldn't stay… his mother was dead somewhere in these halls, and he couldn't deal with that right now. So he shook off Renly and walked out of the waiting room.

"Where are you going?" Stannis asked him, stopping him. "You should take us home. It will make Renly good to sleep home – give him some normalcy."

"There's no normalcy, Stannis. They're gone."

"I know, but we should still go home."

"I'll be here in the morning to pick you up, and we'll go home then," Robert said, and left his brothers at the hospital, with the promise to come for them in the morning.

Out of the hospital soon enough, he made it to his car. This time it took even more tries to get it opened and working – not being able to see in the state he was in.

King's Landing was full of bars, places where he could get drunk, but instead of looking for the closest one, he drove closer to the airport. There was still smoke coming from the lanes, and he noticed a bar. He parked the car, and entered the bar. Most people were talking about the accident, some seemed to be workers at the airport, and they asked him if he was one too; he ignored the question, and started by ordering a beer.

But while he started with a beer, he ordered more and more, especially as more people came in, still talking about the accident and how they were now taking the unrecognizable bodies off the plane. That was when Robert started asking for hard liquor as well, having to show his fake ID to get his vodka, whisky and tequila. But today that was numbing nothing – he needed something to hold onto.

He tried to dial Ned once again, to avoid doing anything he would regret, but Ned's phone was still dead, and he got no answer. So Robert wanted to behave tonight, make his parents proud for tonight – they could probably see him now from heaven. What would they say about him leaving his brothers alone? And drinking this much? Maybe he just should stood up and go to his brothers. But the girl taking a seat next to him stopped those thoughts.

"Have you seen the accident? Of course, you have. Who hasn't? I had a friend in there, you know?"

"Okay…"

"Fuck. It makes you really wonder about your life. We could die at any moment, you know. I get on one of those planes every day."

"Do you wanna feel alive?" Robert asked, not looking up from his drink. '

The girl smiled at him, and said, "This bathroom doesn't work for that."

"My car is just outside…"

"Great," she said, before turning to the bartender. "We'll be back in a few. Keep our seats."

"You know, if the boy runs – you're paying for him," the bartender warned, but he didn't give her too much attention – probably, the girl had done this before.

They didn't take long in the car, it didn't take him long to cum, but the girl insisted that he get her off too. But sex wasn't enough today, he didn't feel better or anything – he still missed his father and mom, and those weren't really the thoughts he wanted to have when he was fucking someone.

"Thanks for that," the girl said. "I really needed to feel alive." The problem was that Robert didn't feel alive – he felt dead, like he didn't belong here anymore.

As he left the car, and went back to the bar, ordering another double whisky, he dialled Ned again.

"Come on… pick up…" he pleaded, but nothing came though. He tried two more times, before he absent-mindedly looked through his phone. A contact called his attention. He had ever used it, but he had gotten it from Brandon, and he knew it was safe – Brandon had used it a ton of times. So he called that instead.

"Yes?"

"I got this number from Brandon Stark. I'm a friend – Robert Baratheon."

"The Baratheon boy, I know who you are. Great game last week."

"Thanks. I was wondering if you have any shit to sell."

"Firstly, my stuff is not shit. And I do have some weed, just got a new batch from Highgarden."

"I was looking for something stronger," Something that would give him a rush – just what he needed.

"I have pills and I still have coke – but not the stuff Brandon normally gets." Robert had never tried coke with Brandon, he knew he normally did that with Ash Dayne.

"Do you have any heroin?"

"I do. But that will be more expensive."

"I can pay."

"Yeah, old money – no shit."

"I don't carry that around, but I'll get it. Are you in King's Landing? I can go meet you, if not, move your ass to the capital."

"I'm in a bar near the airport."

"I think I know it. Have the money ready in half an hour," the man said, before turning off the money.

"Is there an ATM nearby?" Robert asked the bartender.

"Sure. Five doors up."

"Thanks," he said, dropping at the table enough money to cover his drinks.

He left the bar and walked up the street as he had been told, and found the promised ATM machine, and easily got the money he needed. He went back to wait at his car. Once there, he tried Ned again – knowing it was the right thing. He would stop if Ned picked up the call and just call off the deal. But he still didn't pick up.

A half an hour later, he saw a car stop, so he got out, and the men approached him, calling him by name.

"I brought you a clean needle too, it's an extra thirty for that."

"Sure."

"Do you know how to shoot, or should I do it?"

"I know," Robert lied. Sure, he could do it, after watching all those movies.

"Okay, if you say so." The man gave him a bag, and Robert gave him the money. "Thanks," he said, after counting it. "It was a pleasure doing business with you. You have my number if you ever need anything else."

Robert got back to his car, and locked the doors. Looking inside the bag, he found a spoon too, besides what the dealer had already told him about. He knew how this went. He took the lighter from the glove compartment, he put a bunch of the heroin in the spoon and let it melt. After that, he tried to find a way to put it back in the syringe. He remembered seeing someone use cotton in a movie, so he tried looking inside the bag again and found some. It took him quite a long time to get everything ready.

Robert had pushed his sleeve up, tied his shoe laces around his arm to make the veins pop, and was now looking at the full needle. Before he did it, he gave God one more chance – if he wasn't to do it, He would stop him – so Robert called Ned again, who once again didn't answer, and then he gave God one more chance, and dialled Lyanna. He hoped she would pick up. She was better than this, and it would be a sign from God, that he had a chance; but she didn't pick up, and he could tell she had turned off the call.

So he put the needle into his vein, and pushed down the plunger, and he saw it go in. The feeling was instantaneous, and he felt so good, he had never felt this good, not once in his life. He felt like he was on the top of the world, that nothing bad could ever happen in the past, present and future, he felt warm… He just felt capable of falling asleep.

I hope you don't hate me too much… And again, any suggestions about Valentine's Day are appreciated