Chapter 13: Love is in the Air

~o0o~

Daenerys woke suddenly, drawing in a sharp breath and coughing lightly as her body struggled with the odd position it was contorted into. Her neck was bent sharply to the left and her whole left side was numb.

Her eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room and she quickly found the grandfather clock by the wall – 4:43 a.m. She realized she had fallen asleep on the couch and then…

"Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God…" she whispered to herself, panicking when she saw that she had fallen asleep on Captain Jorah Mormont's chest. Her heart was doing somersaults, but a quick glance told her he was still asleep.

The night before started replaying in her mind. How he had walked into the living room and she couldn't have been happier to see him. How he had sweetly tolerated her television binge session and then how they had talked for hours.

About Rhaegar. And how much they both missed him.

A debate about the best place in West London to get a proper curry.

The absurd number of things she had bought at Harrods.

How he hadn't been shopping in ages, but that when he did go, he preferred one specific tailor on Saville.

And their conversations kept going. It felt so light and easy and she loved talking to him. And not once did either of them bring up her date with Robb. In fact, Daenerys hadn't even thought about it.

She didn't remember what happened after that but could only assumed they talked themselves into a stupor and fell asleep. And now she was wishing she hadn't woken up. Beyond the crick in her neck, sleeping on his muscular chest was rather fantastic. He was warm and smelled good and just being in such close proximity to him was making the baby hairs all over her body stand on end.

Daenerys knew she needed to get back to her own bed. A Princess shouldn't really be sleeping on the couch, let alone with her equerry. She carefully moved off of the couch, careful not to wake him, and padded down the hallway to her room. Once inside, she flopped onto her bed and held her pillow close to her, fully aware that she was acting like a teenager with a ridiculous crush and fell back to sleep with a smile on her face.

~o0o~

"Princess, could we speak?"

Daenerys wasn't expecting anyone else after Jorah had come to give his morning report and she was starting to ready herself for the day ahead with Gilly's help. When Jorah had walked into her room, there was a very small, almost minuscule difference in the way they interacted. No one outside of them would have noticed it, but she did. He seemed a little more comfortable with her, even though he didn't mention the night before. Still, there was a shift in their energy and smiles passed more frequently between them. Daenerys was still playing the morning meeting over in her head, wondering if she was reading into things as Gilly helped to steam her outfits for the first day of London Fashion Week. When Grey knocked and entered the room, she was honestly surprised at his formality.

"Of course, Gilly, could you give us a moment alone?"

"Yes, your Grace." Gilly dipped her head and left the room, shutting the door behind her. Grey was fidgeting with his hands as he took a step forward into her large bedroom.

"Princess, I would like to ask your permission to take Missy on a date."

It wasn't even ten yet and Daenerys' day was going better than she expected. She tried her hardest to hide her glee as Grey looked down at his freshly shined shoes to avoid her eyes. The chemistry between her best friend and him was obvious and there was a time when Dany had thought it was only one-sided. She was happy to see that now Grey felt the same.

"And why would you like to date my best friend?" Daenerys kept up her charade, hiding her smile as she asked, her tone almost too formal.

"Missy is the most intelligent, thoughtful, and beautiful woman I have ever met." Grey said resolutely, surer of his words than anything else in his life. Daenerys finally cracked a smile.

"Grey, you have known myself and Missy for a very long time and I know she has feelings for you. You didn't have to ask my permission, but I wholeheartedly grant it anyway. There is nothing more I would like than to see the two of you happy together." As Daenerys spoke, she saw Grey's usually stoic face light up in both relief and happiness. "But I know we are short-staffed and that you and Gilly and Captain Mormont work too many hours to have decent personal lives. I'm going to talk to my father about bringing on some more help so that you can actually have time to take Missy out. But for now, whatever time you would like to go on your first official date, I am sure Captain Mormont can handle security detail for a few hours."

"Thank you, Princess, truly." Grey nodded in appreciated and left so that Gilly could come back in. Daenerys was practically bursting at the good news and turned to Gilly, now eager to hear more about the love lives of her staff.

"Gilly, tell me about your boyfriend…"

~o0o~

A few hours later, the Princess and Grey walked into the Banqueting House, where the Dior show was being held – the first of many that day. She had multiple outfits in the car to wear to each subsequent show, as she couldn't be caught repeating anything. She would be crucified in the tabloids.

Daenerys loved fashion week, but what she didn't love was that all eyes were on her during this time. Viserys and Rhaegar had never attended, so what she wore set the trends for the season and it was quite a lot of pressure to be beholden to.

Grey kept a steady hand on her upper back as he led her through the crowds of tourists eager to catch a glimpse of celebrities entering the show, and terrifyingly aggressive paparazzi. The task was made more difficult by her towering black Dior heels.

"Princess…where's your boyfriend?"

"How many guys have you slept with this week?"

"Oi, fuck off!" Grey yelled back at them, still shielding the Princess as best as he could as he led her to the door and out of the madness. "Don't listen to them. They don't know you."

Daenerys gave him a grateful smile as he helped her with her black trench and led her to her seat in the front row. It was a fantastic place to sit. Next to Victoria Beckham, Kate Moss, and…

"Hello Lady Sansa." Daenerys said cordially as she sat down next to the red-head and crossed her ankles demurely. She was suddenly very glad she had chosen last minute to wear her vintage, 50's H-Line dress given to her by the House of Dior personally instead of the plaid skirt suit from the 2018 ready-to-wear collection, as that was what Sansa had on and looked inescapably beautiful in. She thanked her intuition and turned to make small-talk with Kate as more people filed in and Sansa ignored her, too busy texting away on her phone.

~o0o~

Jorah sat in his office, looking out over the front gardens of Kensington Palace. His office had one of the few views of the front of the palace, but only just barely. There was an exceedingly long line of tourists that day, all eager to see the museum, learn about Daenerys' mother, and try their best to take pictures of the apartments where he and the Princess and Lyanna lived.

That morning he had awoken at around six in the morning on the living room couch, puzzled and uncomfortable. But then he remembered how he and the Princess had spent the night watching television and talking and he hadn't been able to think of anything else all morning, which was severely distracting him from his work. She had looked so beautiful and happy when he came to brief her on her schedule, and even more stunning when she had left the apartments with Grey on their way to the first of many fashion shows. Daenerys had extended the offer for him to come, but he would have only stood out.

And he was getting a play-by-play from Sansa anyway.

Sansa [1:18 p.m.]: Benedict Cumberbatch is here.

Jorah shook his head, coming to terms with the fact that he wouldn't be getting much work done. He and Sansa hadn't spoken much since he left her hotel room, but things seemed normal enough today.

Jorah [1:18 p.m.]: Who?

Sansa [1:19 p.m.]: That guy from that weird superhero movie you like. Dr. Something?

Jorah chuckled. He wasn't very good with celebrities or remembering their names, but he found that pretty cool.

Jorah [1:20 p.m.]: Dr. Strange. Say hi for me then. Aren't you supposed to be watching a fashion show?

Sansa [1:21 p.m.]: It hasn't started yet. The Princess just arrived. Everyone is going crazy, of course.

Jorah could almost hear the annoyance in Sansa's tone and he didn't like it, but he wasn't surprised. Britain loved Daenerys and that wasn't going to change and he knew Sansa felt threatened by her.

Jorah [1:22 p.m.]: I'm sure you look lovelier.

He didn't know why he sent that. He partially felt guilty for leaving her and although his body regretted it, his heart felt as if it was warring with itself.

Sansa [1:24 p.m.]: I want to see you soon. So we can properly finish what we started the other night. I won't take no for an answer. Gtg – it's starting

Jorah set his phone down and sighed. He was playing a very dangerous game with Sansa…one that he knew couldn't go on forever, especially since after this morning he was sure his blossoming feelings for the Princess weren't just remnants of missing Rhaegar. He wouldn't have been able to talk to her for hours about everything and nothing at all if he was just looking for a substitute of him. He wouldn't be so entranced by her laugh and her smile and her hair and her eyes. Rhaegar was a handsome man, but he sure as hell didn't spend time thinking about his eyes.

He was startled out of his little daydream when his office line rang. It was Robb Stark's equerry.

"Fuck."

~o0o~

"Sorry, your Grace. It's nice to see you…" Sansa apologized to Daenerys when the blonde turned back to her and she gave her an air kiss on each cheek. "Just texting with my boyfriend and sometimes it's hard to think about anything else, you know?"

"Sure…" Daenerys agreed awkwardly as Sansa giggled, "I…I didn't know you were seeing anyone."

Sansa knew she shouldn't have said it, but it had given her a momentary thrill to be texting Captain Mormont while sitting right next to her. She was jealous that the Princess got to see him every day.

"It's super casual. I mean, if your brother would just look my way…"

Both Sansa and Daenerys laughed awkwardly at the thought of Viserys paying attention to anyone other than himself. "Is your boyfriend someone I know?"

"I daresay he is," Sansa instantly regretted saying that as well, "But it's a secret," she winked cheekily, "How was your date with my brother?"

"It was very nice. I'm looking forward to another…" Daenerys said diplomatically as the lights started to dim.

"I know he does too," Sansa said, starting to get nervous that she had given too much away. She knew Petyr would be livid if she had done anything to derail his plans, so she tried to do a bit of damage control and mention the man she had been texting as if her crush was still unrequited, "How is Captain Mormont doing? I think you should invite me for tea again just so I can stare at his pretty cheekbones."

Daenerys had to bite the inside of her lip to keep herself from saying something she shouldn't and was thankful that the music started to play, and the first model strode out onto the catwalk. Even though she had had a wonderful morning, was sitting front row at the hottest Fashion Week show in London, with her picture being taken even more than the models, Daenerys wasn't having a good time anymore. The woman next to her had brought out all of her insecurities with a single conversation.

Instead of the gorgeous clothes and gorgeous models walking past her, all Princess Daenerys could think of was that she wasn't the only one who wanted Captain Mormont, even if Sansa did have a boyfriend. Knowing Sansa, that meant nothing. And if given a choice, why would Jorah ever pick her over someone as beautiful as Sansa?