Chapter 1: Echo
They sit on a small outcropping, enjoying the view in peaceful silence. A gentle breeze rustles their hair, light fingers playing with Arya's dark locks. Below them, a narrow river winds through the valley like a snake, shimmering from the reflected sunlight. It is not the grey, dreary landscape that Arya remembers from her childhood, but forest-green trees have softened the sharp, jagged tops that once seemed to slice into the sky. She can see why Meera has been raving about hiking in the Vale mountains now.
Jaime wraps an arm around Arya's shoulders, and she snuggles deeper into his side, making herself comfortable. Home, she thinks, sighing contentedly.
"Think it'll echo back if I yell?" Jaime wonders aloud quietly. His thumb rubs in small circles on her bare arm.
"Of course. What are you going to say?"
"Maybe just scream. Or shout something stupid. Or declare my love for you."
"Jaime, no-"
But Jaime is already cupping his hands around his mouth and yelling at the top of his lungs, "I love you, Arya Stark!"
The echo bounces around the valley several times before gradually disappearing.
"Someone might hear," she protests, although even she can hear the affection in her own voice.
"I don't care if the whole world can hear, Little Wolf. They can suck ass for all I care."
Arya slaps him on the arm playfully. "Jaime!"
Jaime grins wolfishly, the corners of his mouth spreading into a broad smile, and Arya thinks to herself that she's never seen him this happy before, this carefree and full of life. His eyes sparkle with a youthful glimmer as if it never left, and the few silver hairs on his head and ever-present worried crinkles around his eyes seem to disappear in that moment. Their past fades away, time is frozen, until nothing is left except him and her. Just them, the soft grass underneath, the tree branches swaying gently in the wind, and the faint sounds of the rushing river in the background. I love you, I love you, I love you. I'm sorry I can't tell you that yet, but if I could spend the rest of my life with you, I would in a heartbeat.
Jaime glances at her, face serious again, and reaches out to grasp her hands tenderly. Arya looks at their intertwined fingers; hers are small and pale; his are rough, calloused, and almost twice the size of her hands. It only serves to remind Arya of how wrong this is, and all the doubt comes rushing back at once. Their age difference, their families' history, they should not be together... Yet she finds she does not regret it.
Not one bit.
He must have still seen a hint of doubt on her face, because his frown deepens, the crinkles around his eyes return, and Arya just wants to smooth them out forever. He knows what she is thinking. He can always understand her.
"Arya. I meant what I said. I don't care what anyone else thinks about us. Fuck them. Whatever happens, we'll face it together." He's looking at her, reaching out a hand to caress her cheek tenderly, his beautiful green eyes almost pleading, the unspoken question hanging in the air between them.
"Together," Arya answers firmly, and she pulls him down to capture his lips. "I am yours, and you are mine. Don't ever think that I'll leave you, Jaime Lannister. Only when the sun rises in the west and sets in the east," she breathes, pressing her forehead against his. Jaime leans down to kiss her again passionately. Whispers of promises filled with love echo between them, heard only by the birds, trees, and the wind.