Twenty Years into King Jon's Reign
(Part three)
There were few things that still made Brienne feel insecure. Still as she stood staring at the dress hanging in front of her, she could feel the hot flush make it's way up her neck.
"You don't have to." Jaime told her softly, coming to sit on the edge of the bed, his hand settling against the curve of her hip.
"Don't I?" She sighed softly as she turned her head to look at him.
"You could just as easily put on your King's Guard armor and white cloak." He raised an eyebrow at her. She smiled, pivoting the rest of her body towards him, settling her legs between his knees. His green eyes crinkled around the corners as she carded her hands through his long since silvered hair. "Be Lord Commander? Save Lady Lannister for another day."
"I don't know if you recall Lord Lannister, but I am no longer Lord Commander of the Kings Guard." She told him softly, his right eye squinted as he regarded her words. "So Lady Lannister is all I have."
"Do you regret it?" It was his turn to wear the insecurity, she mused, bringing her palms down to his face. She traced the lines around his eyes, slipping down and brushing her fingertips through his neat beard. She shook her head slowly, watching the grin slip across his face until he looked like his younger self. "My nephew, our future King is about to be married." She felt the edges of her lips twitch. "Tyrion has a child old enough to marry. We have children old enough to be married."
"You could easily have a grandchild old enough to marry by now, My Darling." She told him, holding her face still until the look of horror graced his.
"You wound me." He snorted, rising so quickly from the bed she would have stumbled back if his strong arms hadn't circled her waist, crushing her against his broad chest.
"I'm serious!" She yelped.
"You cruel woman." He murmured into the crook of her neck as he pressed his lips to the long faded scars there.
"I am just stating a mathematical fact." She told him, her voice blank despite how her hands reached for his jaw, lifting his face until it was even with hers.
"Humm." He grumbled, leaning in just a little as her mouth met his. "It's a mathematical fact that I'm old."
"Very old." She murmured against his lips. "But your still very strong."
"I am?" He asked her, his eyes twinkling. She nodded.
"And Handsome."
"You still think I'm handsome?"
"It's a fact, Ser Jaime. It's not something I've decided." She raised a stern eyebrow at him.
"Of course Ser Brienne." He gave her an exaggerated nod. "I did not mean to imply you found me suitable in anyway." She tried to hide her grin, against the side of his cheek, but he could feel it. "My apologizes." She pulled back her eyebrows still arched, her face droll.
"I understand that your Lady Wife finds you quite handsome." She told him.
"She does, does she?" He gave her a skeptical look.
"That's what I understand." She softened her face as she regarded him.
"I wouldn't mind seeing her in that." He looked back over her shoulder at the gown. She raised an eyebrow at him, turning slowly to follow his gaze. "With her hair unpinned, down about her shoulders?"
"You wouldn't?" The doubt was back in her voice and he re-wrapped her tighter, pushing himself up on the balls of his feet to press his lips against her hairline.
"I wouldn't." His voice was light and she could feel his eyebrows rise as he pressed his forehead against hers. "With the lions and the Lannister gold and red, she'd be telling the Westerlands she's proud to be the Lady of the Rock." He pressed his forehead against hers.
"She is proud." Brienne whispered softly.
"Is she now?" He tires to sound cheeky, but Brienne pushed back from him enough to see his face. She winces at the edge of creeping doubt.
"Jaime, I am proud." She sighs. "I've always been." She glances back at the dress. "Even when at times I've felt unworthy."
"Brienne.."
"Don't-." She runs her fingers up his neck and across to his lips. "I haven't been here for the West, not with any sort of regularity. Seems a common theme of mine, neglecting one set of duties for another." He watched a small smile grace her face as she wrinkled her brow. "So many vows."
"I tried to tell you." He blinked at her.
"Mummy!" Came a squeal from the hallway as Catty's tiny body flung through the door. "Ty's boat is here! Tom said he could see it from the veranda!"
"They made good time." Jaime whispered to her softly.
"I want to go to Lannisport, Father! Ren said only the boys were going but Lyanna is going! I want to go!" She stomped her foot on the floor."It's not fair that just the boys should go."
"Clearly if Lyanna is going it's not just the boys." Brienne said softly. "But you can watch from the veranda with the rest of us."
Catlyn pouted dramatically as Jaime lifted her up off the floor.
"We'll be able to see the bannermen as they come up the Ocean Road." He whispered to her. "You'll be able to see the Tarth like at Evenfall."
Moments later, Brienne sat with Catty on her lap, looking out into the distance as her house sigel climbed the hills towards Casterly. After a while, she could make out the image of her oldest child, The Evenstar, atop his white horse, his Lady at his side as they moved towards the gate of his childhood home. A strange completeness overtook her as her last child returned to the Rock, and suddenly her world felt more right then it had in years. She blinked surprised tears from her eyes as she felt Jaime's fingers tangle with her own.
Minutes earlier Lyanna had thrown herself unceremoniously into her cousins arms.
"Oh Gods where have you been?! I've missed you!"
"Tarth. About three hours from your home. You should stop by it sometime cuz." He framed her face with his hands and grinned. "If you could tear yourself away from your Lady."
"Your own Lady would gladly you take a trip to Storms End if you so desire!" The sharp voice from over his shoulder made Lyanna give him a shove as Amena was helped down from the ramp.
"Lady Tarth." Lyanna greeted, moving her scabbard aside to curtsy.
"Don't you dare!" The girl squealed, grabbing at the young night and pulling her to her chest. "I have missed you so. Evenfall's so empty with only Ty to keep my counsel."
"Must be rough." Ren snorted, giving his brother a good natured jab. Tyrick looped his elbow around his little brothers neck with a rough yank.
"How was Dorne?" His oldest brother asked. "Has Seralla changed her mind yet and broken your betrothal?"
"Mena!" Ty grinned at the wide smile that came to his brides face.
"Ced?" The Lady of Tarth yelped, moving further towards the group as her younger brother emerged from the crowd. She tossed her arms around him "Ced! Gods Ty look at him he's grown two feet since we've seen him last."
"Lord Evenstar." Ty turned quickly towards the sharp voice from above, his mouth screwing to the side.
"Your Grace." The older man teased, dropping into a low bow.
Rickon Lannister did in fact look all the King he would one day become, atop his horse, back rod straight, green Lannister eyes narrowing at his cousin.
"Not quite yet My Lord." He snorted, raising one eyebrow. Ty straightened wrapped his arm around the other, patting the horses body with his free hand.
"I've missed you, Rick, you Tiny bastard." He murmured into is cousins fur lined cloak. "Summers on Tarth aren't the same without you."
"Have to string your own kites?" The young man teased into Ty's golden locks. "The horror."
"Father and Mother didn't come down?" Ty asked, peeling away from Rickon to clap Tomsyl on the back and ruffle Jon's locks before taking the reins of the large white horse the boy was bringing him.
"No. They decided to stay back." Tom whispered softly.
"She's alright thou?" Ty asked his brother quietly. "I mean, Da said she was alright."
"She's fine." Tom nodded, his head at his younger brother and Ren stepped into the conversation. "He's asking about Mum."
"Mum's fine." He shrugged. "Still favoring it, but she's back to the yard, she was besting Da and your good father just last evening."
"We should head up." Amena said softly. "I want to see everyone else."
"Fine." Lyanna groaned. "But it's cousins only tonight."
She smiled wickedly and Ty rolled his eyes.
"Lya.." He moaned. "I hope your not trying to rope us all in-."
"It's been ages since all of us have been at the Rock. At least five years!" His cousin yelped. "We're playing."
"No." Jaime Lannister told his brother soundly. "We're all drunk enough already."
"The children are all playing it in the solar right now." Tyrion insisted.
"Good for them." Jaime quipped back.
"Isn't there anything you want to know?" His brother insisted.
"I know everything there is to know about everyone in this room." He gestured broadly. "Much more than I care to, actually."
"There's nothing new?" Tyrion protested.
"Is there ever?" Jaime snorted drolly.
"Arya's got news." Sansa announced, her voice sing song.
"Sansa." She hissed at her sister.
"What it's not a secret is it?" Gendry asked, raising a quick eyebrow.
"Not you too." She narrowed her eyes at him.
"Oh, now you may have my interest, brother." The older Lannister set his gaze on his closest friend.
"I was going to tell you." Arya mumbled.
"How nice! I was on your list, right after everyone else." He snorted.
"Don't pout, it's unbecoming." She corrected, her face blank.
"Well? Are you planning on putting me out of my misery?" He asked expectantly.
"I hadn't planned to do it so publically." She huffed and Jaime narrowed his eyes.
"Oh for Gods sake, you make it sound like your dying." Sansa snorted. "She's stepping down."
Jaime's mouth slipped open for a second before he recovered and took his face back to neutral.
"You're sure?" He said evenly.
"I'm sure." She held Jaime's gaze, and he could see her lower lip tremble just slightly. He suddenly wished she had told him alone.
"Tell him what you plan to do!" Tyrion insisted, his wine sloshing over the rim of his cup and splashing against his doublette. Jaime and Arya ignored him, still lost in there own conversation. "She's going to take her little ship, go exploring for a full turn of the season. Jaime can you imagine?"
Jaime broke his eyes away from his friend and turned them back to his brother with a wane smile.
"I suppose as a younger man I could have." He grinned. "Seems like quite the adventure."
"Ask her who's taking her place." Podrick called out, one eyebrow raised as he drunkenly toyed with pieces of Janali's hair.
Brienne looked from Pod to Tyrion before snorting.
"If someone utters the name Ser Bronn of the Blackwater-." She exclaimed.
"Oh Gods, that's a frightening prospect." Jaime grunted. "Will there even be a kingdom for Rickon to inherit?"
"Bran." Sansa yelped dismissively. "No gods, nothing like that, just Bran."
"Bran?" Jaime's eyes slid to his wife at her unusually high pitched yelp. She looked at him with something akin to panic, it made his heart beat faster. Lannister settled on the arm of the chair she occupied and picked up her hand. He kissed the back before dropping it to his knee. It had been a long time since he'd thought about his past with Brandon Stark. Arya looked back a him with a small smile.
"Bran will be fine." She said softly, looking at Brienne knowingly. "Everything will be fine."
"Let's hope." Jaime grimaced, looking from her to Gendry.
"You should go talk to her." Brienne murmured against his shoulder.
"I'll talk to her in the morning." He sighed.
"You're not going to sleep."
"If I go talk to Arya, who will hold your hair back when your body inevitably rejects the amount of wine you poured into it?" He pressed his lips into her forehead.
"You should have stopped me." She moaned quietly.
"I tried." He snorted. "More than once. You were freaking out."
"You don't think it's a little alarming?" His wife winced as she lifted her head to look at him.
"Easy." He cooed, pressing his hand against the side of her face and lowering her back down to him. He slid his fingers back and forth against her neck before taking a long slow breath. "I think.." He began softly. "If Bran Stark wanted me to pay my dues for what I did to him, he would have said so long ago."
"Still…" She sighed. "I'd feel better if you added that in when you talk to Arya about her love life."
"It's just not too soon to stop the whole thing. Jon could annul the marriage and they could marry."
"She has had the last two decades to marry him." She hiccuped and Jaime stifled a laugh. "You and I didn't even take two decades to marry, and we drew the whole thing out a bit." He snorted at her.
"The whole plan has always made me uncomfortable." He rubbed at his face before laying his hand over the one she had clutched around his night shirt.
"It's not any worse then the typical arranged political marriage." She argued. "It served both parties. It offered protection to Janye and Lyanna, while leaving Gendry and Arya to be what they have always been."
"Does it though?" He huffed. "If it did would Arya feel the need to go on a sail for a full seasons turn? The same seasons turn that the Stormlords will be anxiously awaiting an announcement of a Barathon heir?"
"I'm not saying it's easy for her." Brienne mumbled, swallowing hard. "I'm saying she made her choice. He waited as long as he could, and then he did what he thought was the right thing."
"And what about Janye? She's forced to lay with him despite not wanting to-."
"Jeanye has known what's expected of her since she was a child. Gendry will be kind, and Lyanna will be with her."
"Yes that makes the whole situation better." He grumbled. "Nothing like trying to produce an heir with a girl you consider your niece in the room. Maybe she'll join."
"Jaime!" Brienne gulped again, with a groan..
"Are you going to be sick?" He asked, moving back to look at her. "Because I'd understand, between the wine and the topic."
"No." He raised an eyebrow. "Well maybe, but that's not what I'm-. Everyone in this situation knew what they were agreeing to. Even Arya. It was her decisions that led them all to this point. She's doing what she feels is best for her."
"Well, as someone who spent twenty years doing what I thought was best while slowly destroying everything around me, including myself, I wish she'd see reason." He admitted softly, Brienne stilled beside him.
"Oh Jaime." She sighed softly, her wine soaked breath brushing across his face. He sighed pressing his lips to her head again. "I wasn't.. connecting.."
"I'm glad you didn't." He told her. "I'm thankful that when someone mentions semi incestuous romantic disasters you don't immediatly think of me."
"Jaime."
"Her and I have had this conversation-." He sighed. "A million times. I have tried to tell her she doesn't have to cling to a decision she made when she was nearly a child." Brienne's hand carded through his beard. "Maybe I'm just putting my old regrets onto her."
"You know her, Jaime." She soothed, she knew it had to do somewhat with Myrcella. She had been around the same age, the same type of defiant, even if it had been expressed differently. "Sometimes better than Sansa, I think."
"We're similar." He sighed. "Sadly, I feel maybe in too many ways."
"Talk to her, again tomorrow." She sighed against him. "Try once more."
He nodded.
"You need to sleep." He whispered into the dark. "You'll have another full day as the Lady of the Rock tomorrow."
"Wouldn't be prudent to vomit at the celebration honoring our future king." She mumbled with a yawn."
"Out of all of them Rickon would find it the most amusing. He's so much like Tyrion the little shit." Jaime chuckled.
Brienne made an affirmative noise, already slipping into pulled his head back and looked at her, her face flushed and relaxed with drink.
"I love you." He whispered, watching her lips twitch into a shadow of a smile.