"So, how is married life treating you, sister?" Jon asked as he entered the solar. Sansa looked up from the papers she was reading and smiled at the sight of her brother, his eyes sparkling with the happiness which had been found there ever since his private wedding to Daenerys just three days past.

Sansa smiled at her brother. "Very well. I was just about to leave and return to my husband, actually. How are you finding being married?"

Jon's smile was genuine and it made Sansa very pleased. Since they had been reunited, she had not seen Jon so happy, not even when they had regained Winterfell. "It is more than I could have imagined," Jon said simply. Sansa knew that her brother was not one for too much overstated emotion. His statement alone showed Sansa how her brother felt for Daenerys and, though Sansa was not necessarily Daenerys' biggest fan, it was another reason to try with her, on top of her husband's loyalty to her and all she had done for Brienne's wedding. Even so, Sansa still had that feeling about her that she had had since she had arrived at Winterfell.

"Jon," Sansa said carefully. She almost stopped herself but the peaceful look on her brother's face made her do otherwise. A man at peace was a man who was not watching out for himself. She would not bear to see her brother hurt, just because he hadn't been on the lookout. Jon narrowed his eyes at her. "Be careful."

Jon hesitated, his face caught between annoyance and understanding. Sansa bit her lip, worrying that she had screwed up their close relationship that she treasured. Jon nodded. "I am always careful, Sansa," he said with half a smile, "but she is the woman I love. I know that my heart is safe in her hands."

Sansa had a feeling that he was right. His heart was safe in Daenerys' hands. It had been clear since they arrived that Daenerys loved Jon. Perhaps Sansa was making a selfish request, that he be careful that Daenerys took as much care with her people, with their people, as she did with his heart. Sansa did not say anything, unwilling to ruin this goodbye.

"Take care of Tyrion," Jon said. Sansa smiled at the thought of her week-old marriage. Jon's friendship with Tyrion was clear from the way the two spoke about each other and it made Sansa glad.

"We take care of each other."

Jon scoffed out a laugh. "I don't need to hear anything about that," he said, his face creasing as he smiled. Sansa laughed in surprise. Her brother was not one to make anything close to a dirty joke, not in front of her anyway. Sansa stood, leaving her papers at her desk.

"I'm going to miss you," she said honestly. "I doubt there will ever be a time again that we live together as we have at Winterfell." Jon nodded severely.

"And that is right. You and Tyrion will take good care of the North and Dany and I will care for the rest of the kingdoms. I swear I will never let a year go by without seeing you." Her brother was so earnest that Sansa felt tears come to her eyes. She stepped forward to hug him, closing her eyes against his shoulder.

"I love you, Jon," she said against his furs. He nodded and she felt his hand on the back of her head.

"I love you too, sister," he said, pulling away and taking her hands. Sansa smiled, ignoring the way her eyes were slowly streaming. They squeezed at each other's hands and then Jon took his hands from hers. With one last smile, he left Sansa alone in her solar, feeling a pang in her heart at the thought of her brother being far away, with few that Sansa trusted.

XXX

An hour or so later, Sansa returned to her room, which was attached to her solar. She had decided to finish up a few more papers than originally planned, to distract her from Jon's leaving. She did not want to take her tears back to her bedroom, to Tyrion. Their original chambers had held too many tears.

Instead of her husband, though, Sansa found her sister pacing in her room. Not bothering to ask how she had entered without Sansa knowing, Sansa sat down in her armchair and curled her legs underneath her. Sighing, she said, "What's wrong, Arya?"

"I swore to kill Cersei," Arya said. Her eyes were wild. Sansa thought she might have been crying but she didn't mention it. Sansa nodded. She'd thought for awhile that Arya had the intentions of killing the queen. "I swore it to myself."

"Yes, Arya," Sansa said, nodding again.

"Gendry asked me to marry him." Sansa blinked in surprise. She had thought from the conversation they had had last week at breakfast with Brienne that Arya might get married one day, but she had expected that to be a long way away, after years travelling, possibly with Gendry. "I want to marry him. I want to do it properly. He didn't even really ask me yet but we discussed it and we both agreed it was a good idea and I have to kill Cersei."

Sansa swallowed. "You don't have to kill Cersei, Arya," she said gently. Arya shook her head vehemently.

"I do have to, Sansa. I swore it once, a long time ago, and then again, a few weeks ago. I owe it to myself, to Father, to you and, not to be soft, but I want to do it for Brienne. And Jaime, I suppose."

Sansa smiled softly at her sister. "He likely won't thank you."

"And that's why I'm going to do it." Arya groaned aloud, covering her face with her hands. "It's not that I don't think I can marry Gendry and kill her. It's just that- if I go, now," she said hesitantly, "if I go now and I arrive and die-"

"Arya," Sansa said, cutting her off. She sort of understood what her sister wanted to say, that she did not want to risk the future happiness that she was envisaging with Gendry but that she still felt as though she had to take on Cersei. Sansa inclined her head to her sister. "You should go and catch up with the vanguard. You should find Gendry and ask him to marry you as soon as you are done."

Arya bit her lip. "What if he says that I should stay with him?"

Sansa shook her head, leaning it against the head of the armchair. "Then you shouldn't marry him." Arya nodded and came closer to Sansa. She leaned over and pressed a kiss to Sansa's forehead. Sansa smiled sleepily at her sister. "Come back, Arya. Promise me you'll come back."

"I'll do my best, Sansa," Arya promised. They shared an intense look and then Arya swept out of the room, closing the door softly on her way out. Sansa closed her eyes and brought her knees closer to her chest, her chin leaning against one.

"Are you alright, Sansa?" interrupted a few minutes later. Sansa smiled at the sound of Tyrion's voice. He must have entered through her solar. Sansa did not open her eyes but extended her hand to draw him close. His hand fit in hers very nicely.

"I said goodbye to Jon and then to Arya."

"Oh," Tyrion said. Sansa smiled. "Can I get you anything?"

Sansa shook her head. "A kiss," she requested, leaning forward to give him access to her lips. She heard his chuckle and then felt his lips, soft and gentle against hers. She smiled against his and then pulled away, smiling and pressing her fingers to her lips. She opened her eyes and found him looking at her, concerned. "Sorry that I am melancholy," Sansa said. "My siblings and I have been together for a short while, too short to be separated again and I just feel rather lonely, what with Bran hardly being the same."

Tyrion nodded. "I know." Sansa smiled. He would know exactly how she felt when Jaime left with his troops in a few weeks. For now, though, Sansa had Tyrion's family to replace her own and she loved Brienne almost as much as her own siblings. And Jaime was growing on her at an exponential rate every time she saw Brienne smile. "What did Jon say of the marriage?"

Sansa smiled at her gossip husband. "Only that he was happy. Did Daenerys say anything?" Tyrion shook his head. "I told Jon to be careful."

Sansa could not read Tyrion's face. It made her feel a little bit uneasy. "He has little to worry about," he tried to assure her. Sansa stifled her sigh, remembering where Tyrion's loyalties were, despite their marriage. Her loyalties would have to remain solely to her family and the North whilst his remained with Daenerys, else she was very likely to begin to fall in love with him. And she had been through enough in her short life to be subjected to an unrequited love with her own husband.

Sansa stood and offered Tyrion her hand, leading him to their marriage bed. For now, this was the best way to show their affection. At least here she had Tyrion's complete loyalty.

XXX

Brienne approached Jaime from behind, wrapping her arms around his waist. He settled his hand on her hand and she leaned her head against his shoulder. "What are you looking at, love?" she asked.

Jaime smiled at the nickname and pressed the side of his head against hers. The courtyard was empty but Jaime was staring out anyway. "I was watching the troops leave but then they were all gone." Brienne turned to Jaime curiously. He pecked her on the lips, making her smile. "I'm scared of facing her."

Brienne didn't need any more context. She knew that the 'her' he referred to was his sister and she also knew that this had been on his mind for a while now, at least since they had gone back to work after the honeymoon. "I know, Jaime," she said softly. "We don't have to go. We could just send the troops."

Jaime did not meet her eyes. Brienne truly would not mind staying out of the action. If it kept Jaime safe, if it kept him sane, she would stay in Winterfell forever. "I would never be able to look you in the eye if we did not go." Brienne watched him carefully but he didn't turn his head back to her. She kept her eyes on his jaw, which was tight. She brought her hand up to rub it and he pressed his cheek against her palm.

"I would never judge you for that, Jaime. You do not have to go to war with Cersei to prove your love for me."

Jaime shook his head. "It's not just that. You are- I know that you would not force me to war or even encourage me there if you thought it was bad for me or that I didn't want it, but I would never be able to explain myself to our children, to anyone I ever met if I did not. I won't lie and say that I want to fight Cersei. The thought makes me sick but I have to do this, to end things properly. Do you understand?"

Brienne did understand. She rubbed his bearded jawline. "It's okay to be scared, Jaime. I'm going to be with you every step of the way. I promise."

Jaime finally turned to look at her. "I love you so much," he said and his eyes were full of tears. Brienne turned so that she could hold his head to her shoulder and his whole body close to her. She blinked back her own tears at the thought that she couldn't protect him from the emotions that Cersei would stir up inside him.

"I love you," she murmured softly, stroking her fingers through his hair. She would do what she could and then be there for the fallout.

XXX

Arya arrived in silence, in darkness, on the third day of travel from Winterfell towards the Twins, towards the first battle. She'd been playing over what to say for three days, never having had any experience of this, nor having truly observed love since she was much younger. And her parents had hardly ever been open with their affection. Closer to the present, she had seen the overt love between Brienne and Jaime, but again they rarely verbalised the way they felt. Arya truly had no idea how she was supposed to explain to Gendry how she felt.

She'd likely have arrived sooner if she hadn't been so anxious about this conversation. She wanted Gendry to know how she felt but also to understand the obligation she felt to finish Cersei for good. And, if it went wrong, all she could hear were Sansa's words: "Then you shouldn't marry him".

Arya wanted to be a team with Gendry. She wanted him to be her partner. The world was quite lonely when you didn't have a partner. Sansa had been her partner for a little bit and that had been nice but they were very different and, anyway, Sansa was married, now, to Tyrion and Arya knew that, as soon as she let herself fall in love with him, he would be her partner in everything. She wanted the same thing.

And she was already in love with Gendry, as soft as that sentiment made her feel. She'd been in love with him for as long as she could remember. Or maybe she'd just loved him until they met again, when she finally fell in love with him. All of that was semantics only Sansa cared about. Arya loved Gendry and she wanted to be his partner.

But she had to kill Cersei first.

Arya found Gendry quite easily. She had found him a Northern tent to take with him so that he would not have to sleep rough. He'd been very sweet about it but it was just a practicality that the silly boy wouldn't have thought of himself. And it wasn't any bother to Arya. In fact, it was more of a bother to Sansa as it would have fucked up her numbers slightly.

"Hey," Arya said as she slipped into the small tent. It was too small to stand in, so she immediately sat down and crossed her legs, just by Gendry's feet. Gendry was clearly halfway between sleep and wakefulness.

"Arya?" he groaned, fluttering his eyes. Arya nodded impatiently. "What are you doing here, you weirdo?"

"I want to marry you," she said simply. Gendry shook his head.

"Let me sit up." Arya watched impatiently as he shuffled until he was sitting in the makeshift bed. His head scraped the 'ceiling'. Arya was glad she did not have that problem. When he was realigned in a more comfortable position to receive Arya's news, he said, "say that again."

Arya pursed her lips. "I want to marry you." She shuffled forward slightly on her arse so that she was close enough to lean forward and kiss his sweet, shocked lips. "I know I said I'd think about it but I've thought about it and I want to marry you."

"Were you going to wait for me to ask?" Gendry said and he sounded rather amused. Arya rolled her eyes.

"You basically asked the other night. I'm taking the lead from my sister. I came here to tell you that."

"You came all the way here to tell me you wanted to marry me?"

He sounded slightly incredulous and he had a right to be. Arya sighed. "Essentially, yes, but only because I have to do something else before I can marry you." Gendry furrowed his brow. "I have to kill Cersei."

Gendry knew her well enough not to be shocked but she did see fear in his eyes. Arya swallowed. "Arya, I won't stop you. I'd never stop you, but-"

"I know it's dangerous and that's why I'm here. I wanted you to know that I want to marry you and I don't want to risk our future but I have to do this." Gendry nodded, his jaw setting. Arya closed her eyes and then opened them again. "Will you wait for me?" she asked.

Gendry scoffed. "No, I won't bloody well wait for you. I'm not your pretty little lady who's going to watch while you go off to war, just like you aren't for me. I'm coming with you."

"No," Arya blurted immediately.

Gendry shook his head. "If it's not too dangerous for you, it's not too dangerous for me."

"You think you need to protect me?" Arya demanded, ire rising inside her. He may not think of her as his pretty little lady but he was acting like he did.

Gendry rolled his eyes at her. "No, don't be ridiculous, Arya. I'd like to see the man who could protect you better than you can protect yourself." Arya found herself smiling despite herself. "I'm coming with you because I want to be at your side every day for the rest of our lives. We're a team and that starts now, even if we haven't declared it at a sept yet."

Arya would rather get married in a godswood but none of that mattered now. She grinned and leaned forward to press a lingering kiss to his lips. This was what Brienne had meant by partners. She understood. He would be at her side while she took on Cersei and she would be by his side for the rest of his life.

"When do you want to go?" Gendry asked, pulling back. Arya grinned.

"It would be a great shame to waste this lovely tent I provided you with."

Gendry rolled his eyes. "We'll obviously be taking it with us-" he cut himself off when he saw Arya's raised eyebrows. Shooting her a grin, he said, "and I just understood what you meant. Come here."

XXX

"Where do you think he went?" Dany asked Jon as they lay in bed together five days after having left Winterfell. His little sister's lover Gendry had disappeared in the night two days ago. Jon shrugged.

"Who knows? I imagine Arya has something to do with it."

Dany chuckled and Jon smiled at her mirth. He liked making her laugh. "Do you think we should put out a searching party?"

Jon shook his head. "I doubt if he had been kidnapped they'd take his tent too." Dany nodded and then there was a moment's silence. Jon knew he needed to break their peace for a moment or two but he loved being content in bed with her, away from the masses, just happy in each other's company.

However, duty always called and Davos had been going on about it for weeks now.

"Dany," Jon sighed and she looked at him with those beautiful eyes. He nearly stopped but he'd started and he may as well plough through. "We need to discuss the succession."

She went cold in his arms. He felt the warmth disappear from the tent and hated himself for it. "I don't want to think of it."

"Dany." Jon didn't know what to say. He knew it was a difficult subject, her being barren, but it was essentially the reason they had been able to marry at all. Dany shrugged his arms from around her and sat up, exposing her breasts and stomach. "We would be fools to go into battle without successors."

Jon hated to think of it too. Of course, he did not want to consider the possibility that they would need a successor for many many years, but it was too real a possibility and Jon's duty pressed him. Love could not be the death of duty here. They had an obligation to the kingdoms they served to provide them with stability.

"Are you calling me a fool?" Dany demanded. Jon just stared at her until her severe look melted away. He took her face into his hands, stroking her cheekbone with his thumb.

"I know it's scary, but somebody must carry on our legacy if we both fall."

Dany nodded stiffly. "I know. Who do you suggest?"

Well, wasn't that the issue? Jon had no clue. They were the remaining Targaryens. There was nobody to come after them in bloodlines. There was some more dragon blood dotted around the Stormlands but in houses they did not know and did not trust. Jon knew who he wanted as heir but whether Dany would agree was another matter.

"Sansa-"

"Jon," Dany cut him off with a sigh. "I understand you love your sister but what qualifies her to be queen?"

Jon snapped, "what qualifies us? Sansa is kind and strong and a good leader. She is married to a good, wise man and they will provide heirs for the kingdoms. Who else would you want? Sansa and Tyrion could rule together."

Dany scowled. It was clear she did not like the idea, despite Jon knowing that she trusted Tyrion generally. "Your sister enjoys power."

"So do you!" Jon protested. That made Dany pause. Jon wished he could read her mind. She was silent for too long. Jon wanted to ask what she was thinking, who she thought was better. If she could convince him that someone would be better than Sansa and Tyrion, then he would acquiesce.

"You're right," Dany said with a nod. "Sansa and Tyrion, and their heirs, will be our successors."

Jon let out a breath of relief. One mountain crossed. He reached for Dany and she fell back into his arms, though her scowl had not abated. Jon at least now knew that, should something happen to him and Dany, the kingdoms would be in the best possible hands.