They parted ways the next morning - Gendry, Bronn, and a Tully contingent heading south, the rest headed East toward the Trident. There'd been few enough words between Gendry and Arya before the separation, and it was clear that the young lord was feeling it more keenly than the girl, but as they rode the length of the Fork, Arya seemed sullen. Once they'd crossed the intersection of those churning rivers, the journey was easier, and Arya smiled into the breeze, anxious to see Jon.
The party rode harder and spared themselves a full camp construction more often as weather grew warmer, frequently unfurling the tent wrappings and laying bedrolls over them as an easy added layer of comfort while the diminutive army slept beneath the stars. On those nights, jaime and Brienne would couple as quietly as they could manage, moaning into each other's mouth as they laid on one side, Brienne's free leg hitched up over Jaime's hip. It was strange to love one another while wearing so much clothing, but Brienne did enjoy hearing the seams of Jaime's shirt tear bit by bit night after night when she'd pull him deeper.
As they rode south from Lord Harroway's town, Jaime looked wistfully to the west and turned to catch Brienne doing the same, blushing deeply as their eyes met, mirrored memories of the baths and bear going unspoken.
The only one that sees me
That trusts me and believes me
They rode on, turning from the Kingsroad to ride for the Antlers and from thence to Duskendale.
Lord Edmure had sent a raven ahead to the Dun Fort to advise Jon of the supplemental army's approach. House Rykker had been loyal to Aerys, unlike the previous lords of Duskendale, though both the Darklyns and the Rykkers had managed to suffer at Tywin Lannister's hand. The present Lord Rykker had bent the knee to the dragon queen in the Reach and his lands were now surrounded on all sides by Jon and Daenerys' forces, a camp that sprawled from the Rosby road all the way to the horn where the Unsullied monitored the horizon for movement from the Iron Fleet.
The rains came when they were a day's ride from Duskendale almost, Jaime thought, as if the gods themselves were empathetic to his mood. The further south they got, the more anxious Jaime became. He knew that his wife sensed it, but Brienne never said the words. Instead she held him closer from dusk until dawn, taking her fill of him in the privacy of the tent, crying his name as the skies broke open yet again.
You are the only one
She wrote her love for him on his skin with her tongue, urging him to stay with her, to sink into her instead of despair at the thought of the tragedy that lay ahead, to live for her. And he in turn loved her deeply. He drank from her cunt as she knelt around his head, her mouth gripping his cock. When he felt himself about to release, he pulled her clit between his lips and sucked until she was flooding his mouth and he shouted his release into her depths. He loved her with every ounce of his being until morning when they set out on the final leg of their journey, the muddy roads drying as the sun rose from behind the castle that lay ahead.
Jon's scouts spotted them as they approached the rise that overlooked the Dun Fort, and a group of riders met them on the hill, dragon banners waving. A grin broke out over Arya's face as she cantered her mare ahead to greet the emissaries.
Jon himself rode with a painful grimace, a smile reaching his eyes at the sight of his kin. His leg was still healing from the attack at the gates but he had insisted on being part of the party. He was flanked by a pair each of northmen and Unsullied, and was joined by Ser Davos Seaworth and, to Brienne's delight, Podrick Payne carrying the banner. Brienne's smile on seeing her former squire whole made Jaime's own heart skip a beat just before he caught a glimpse of Jon's expression, just before that same heart sunk into his stomach.
Jon spurred his horse ahead of the group, Arya and Davos sticking to his side, and Jaime and Brienne pulled ahead together to meet them.
"Well met, Ser Jaime. Well met, Ser Brienne. I understand congratulations are in order."
Brienne nodded once with a glance at Arya, "Thank you, Lord Snow."
Davos shifted uncomfortably on his horse with a frown, but Jon seemed to silence him with half a glance. "We did not think to see you for another week at least. The roads were quite muddy when we first made our approach. But truth be told we've been watching for you since Lord Edmure sent the first raven."
"The first?" interrupted Brienne, "have there been more?"
"Only one, Ser Brienne," came Davos' gruff response, "to let us know that Lady Tully was safely delivered of a daughter called Cat."
The other four shared a quiet smile before Jaime's grin tightened, "I know he was anxious for her. I'm glad that some happiness is said to be had during these times." He looked to his wife, and she smiled at him with her bright blue eyes, her mouth remaining firm for the benefit of everyone else. But she could see the darkness brewing in Jaime's look, and she nudged her mare closer to him.
The only one that knows me
"Lord Snow - tell me now - has there been any word of my brother since Cersei's summons? Did Sansa's warning arrive in time for the queen to heed it?"
Davos and Jon exchanged a glance before Jon looked back at Jaime. "Your sister has sent more ravens…" Jon chanced a glance at Brienne, then looked back to Jaime, "We believe Lord Tyrion to still be alive, but-"
"-Your Grace, perhaps we should resume these conversations inside - we don't know-"
"-Your Grace?!" said Arya in disbelief, "Did you convince the queen to part with the north then? Or did she finally recognize your claim?"
Davos looked as if he wished he could have swallowed his own tongue and Jon shot Arya a condemning sidelong look. Then he turned back to Jaime and Brienne. The former's brow was drawn tightly, and the latter's eyes seemed shocked wide, looking between the three of them.
"What don't we know?" Brienne asked hesitantly, and she felt her husband put a steadying hand to her knee.
And in the dark you show me
Jon sighed and nudged his horse to spin around. "Come. The sun is almost set. Your rooms have been prepared in the Dun Fort and there's plenty of space for your troops to set up camp with their comrades." He gave Arya a stern glance. "We can discuss the rest over dinner." He spurred his horse; Arya gave the others a curious glance before following him down the hill.
Brienne turned her eyes to the Onion Knight. "Ser Davos?"
Davos swallowed, and turned his horse as well, watching Arya Stark and her cousin riding into Duskendale. Sighing, he looked back at the couple and straightened his back.
"The dragon queen is dead. Long live King Aegon Targaryen."
A/N: I do not own Game of Throne or these characters; some dialogue may be taken verbatim from HBO's Game of Thrones or George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire. Lyrics used are directly from Halestorm's "Break In" (C) 2012.