JON

It took several days to see Orrina back at the training yard, it seemed that was her punishment for starting a fight with Theon. She stopped coming in the afternoons unless she was accompanied by Sansa, or even Arya but Jon was happy to see her all the same. He was used to waking up early now, and his mornings had been lonely without her to talk too. However it was almost worth it, seeing Theon sulk around Winterfell, clearly having to hold his tongue when people remarked how he got beaten by a girl.

Nearly two weeks after the scuffle with Theon, Orrina met him in the yard, waiting for him. He was surprised when she wrapped her arms around him in greeting and wouldn't let go until he stiffly pat her back. She only practiced with him briefly, Lord Stark didn't explicitly say she couldn't train nor would he ban her, but it was implied she should spend less time there. Instead, Orrina asked him to meet her at the glass gardens in the mornings instead.

She promised to show him how she fought with her axe if he agreed.

So he did.

The next morning, she beat him to their meeting place again, but it gave Jon a chance to admire her from a distance before she noticed his presence. Since coming to Winterfell, he rarely saw her in her breeches, and today was no exception. It looked like Sansa had tailored another dress for the older girl. He knew it was Sansa's handiwork because the fabric wasn't in her traditional black. Only his sister would be able to persuade her to wear a dress like this. Intricate lace, laid over a blue fabric. She almost always wore long sleeves, with a dipped neckline.

Orrina moved amongst the various plants, her long dark hair in a silky curtain down her back. He wished he could run his fingers through it, blushing at the thought. The early morning light filtered through the glass roof made it almost seem like her eyes were aglow. There was a softness in her face Jon wasn't used to seeing, watching as her delicate fingers traced over the leaf of a growing flower.

Finally Jon cleared his throat and made his way over to her, always surprised when she greeted him with a warm smile.

"I was starting to think you abandoned me, Jon Snow." She teased him lightly, nudging him with her shoulder.

"No, I must just enjoy sleeping more than you do."

Jon still felt awkward, not addressing her as formally as he should but Orrina would hear nothing of it. After she punched him hard enough in the arm to make it go numb, he dropped the formalities if nothing for the sake of his limbs. Every now and then he would still slip and call her Lady, only to be met with a raised eyebrow, and pointed look.

Orrina said nothing, just laughed and as always, it stirred something in his chest and he had to quickly avert his eyes away from hers.

"Come now, show me these famous winter roses this garden is so famous for," Orrina boldly put her arm through his, and started to tug him towards the back of the garden. Jon had never had a girl, let alone a Lady be so familiar with him. He wanted to enjoy this moment, to straighten himself up and proudly lead her around the garden but he couldn't help what would happen if someone walked in on them right at this moment.

Lady Catelyn would probably demand that Jon not speak to Orrina anymore, banning them from seeing each other all together. HIs father wouldn't be so harsh, but would quietly remind him that he ought not be so bold with high born ladies, no matter what Orrina said. His father tried not to throw his bastardy into his face, but it seemed he almost always relented to his wife who did nothing to hide her dislike of him.

All because he was born a Snow.

He couldn't help but think if he was his father's trueborn son, if he was Jon Stark. He would allowed to openly speak with Orrina, even court her if he wished. He wouldn't have to wake up before the sun just to have a few moments without anyone's judgmental eyes on them. He couldn't imagine a life where Catelyn Stark was kind to him, kind to him in a way that she was with her children. She would never brush his hair off his brow like she did with Robb, nor embrace him like she did with Bran. But he could imagine a life where he was at least able to talk to a girl freely, without worrying.

"Jon," Orrina called his name softly, her forehead wrinkled in concern. She must have picked up on his sudden mood change, he could feel himself frowning.

"It's fine," he brushed her off. He felt bad for his new sour mood, but he couldn't help it. Instead he lead her to the back corner where the Winter Roses lived and regrettably pulled his arm from hers. He was fooling himself, letting him fall into a fantasy where he could be more than Ned Stark's bastard son, he didn't want to drag her down with him.

Orrina said nothing at first, but Jon noticed the tell tale sign of her clenched jaw from the corner of his eye. She let out a breathy sigh and gently touched one of the petals. The roses weren't in full bloom yet, but the petals were starting to unfurl showing off the frosty blue that matched her dress.

"They are beautiful," she remarked, quietly all too aware of the sudden shift between them.

"They were my Aunt Lyanna's favorite. Once they are fully bloomed, my father will cut one to place in the crypts." Jon found the words hard to get out, watching Orrina rather than looking at the roses. A silence fell between them and Jon desperately wanted to fill it but instead stood quietly, hands clasped in front of him.

"Are you regretting coming to meet me?" He should have known that she wouldn't be afraid to speak her mind. Part of him wished she would have let the moment pass, and they could go their separate ways without speaking of it. But if nothing else, Orrina was the kind of person who always said what she was thinking.

"It's not that," Jon started, he wanted to tell her how he felt, but he also wanted to put distance between them. How he felt was not appropriate. It wasn't ever going to happen so he should just let go of the idea now. He had probably misjudged the situation anyways. Orrina was only friendly to him because she felt bad for him, and her cousins were bastards too, she said so herself. She was just a nice person, and he had blown it up to something it wasn't all because he was desperate for someone to not see him as a bastard.

"Then what is it? Because for a moment you looked happy to see me and now you don't." There was almost a sense of pleading in her words.

"What if someone came in here and saw us together?" He didn't mean to raise his voice at her, but he was frustrated, for so many different reasons.

"Why would that even matter? We can't look at flowers together?"

"No because I'm a bastard! And whether you like it or not, you are a Lady." She just didn't get it. She may not be the typical sort of Lady most dealt with, but she was born with the right family name. It didn't matter that things were different on Bear Island. They weren't in Bear Island and he needed to Orrina to understand that. "Whatever idea you had of us being friends, isn't possible," Jon bit out, looking away from her.

"You know I don't care about that," Jon couldn't bring himself to look back at her, but he could imagine that the corners of her mouth were down turned, he could see the lines between her eyebrows.

"You should, other people do." He didn't give her another chance to retort, before turning and starting for the front of the green house. Away from her and her sad expressive eyes.

Before he could get to the entrance, Jon felt her arm on his elbow pulling him back, keeping him from leaving.

"Then let's go somewhere that no one cares." He looked at her this time, wanting to smooth the skin where her eyebrows wrinkled together. "Lady Stark doesn't feel well. I can do whatever I want today. We could ride to Winter Town."

It was still summer, which meant most of the town would be empty. There would be no prying eyes, no one to look at them disapprovingly. Jon knew he should have said no, that the honorable thing to do, the thing his father would have done. Let her down gently and keep his distance. They had no future together, no matter what Jon wished. None as friends, and certainly none as lovers.

But when he looked to her, prepared to say no, that she shouldn't even leave Winterfell, he couldn't bring himself to do it. He wanted to go with her. He wanted to indulge himself this once. He spent so much of his life, feeling every bit the bastard he was and depriving himself for it.

"Okay." He would allow himself this and then he would keep his distance. Selfish, he knew, but he wanted to feel one day without people seeing him differently. He wanted one day where he could escort a pretty girl around on his arm and not worry about if he was dishonoring her with his presence.

ORRINA

She expected Jon to fight more, given his sudden mood change. Orrina was preparing to ask him to take her to Winter Town anyways, she had wanted to see it since they passed through, but she wasn't necessarily planning on going today. But Lady Stark was feeling ill, and with Sansa and Arya with their septa, it left Orrina's day open with nothing to do.

And she found herself wanting to spend it with Jon. Winter Town provided to be the perfect plan, it gave them a chance to spend time together without Jon looking over his shoulder. She had to wonder if Ned hadn't told him of his and her grandfather's plans. She had heard nothing more of it since Jeor left, not from him nor Lord Stark. But maybe if Jon knew that their families were arranging a betrothal he wouldn't be so on edge.

"Meet me at the stables, I don't want to get Sansa's dress dirty." Orrina squeezed his hand before taking off, before Jon could change his mind. He wouldn't leave her waiting at the stables.

Quietly, but quickly, she made her way back to her room. She hadn't anticipating going riding today, or else she would have saved the beautiful dress Sansa made for her for another day. She shimmied out of the silk dress, and quickly pulled on one of her more well worn dresses. With a smile, she realized it was the same dress that she fought Theon in, but sew back together with the help of Sansa and Arya. She had reattached the torn fabric using a green thread Arya had picked out to match her house colors.

Ideally she would have liked to wear her breeches, but she was already pushing her luck sneaking off with Jon. They would have to pass through the main gates to leave and come back, so it wasn't really sneaking, but she was sure some would think of it that way. Before meeting Jon, Orrina stole down into the kitchens. There were already people working away, she could smell the beginnings of breakfast already.

Luckily for her, Orrina had been voluntarily doing chores in the kitchens, it reminded her of cooking with Hobbs, so not too many looked at her for being out of place. She had a small sack tucked under her arm and she snatched some freshly baked breads and cheese to eat with it. She was even able to sneak away an apple and a small flask of mead to share between them.

Soon she was racing across the grounds of Winterfell, her hair flying behind her as she hurried to meet Jon. Sure enough, he stood awkwardly waiting for her return. There was doubt in his eyes, and Orrina knew she had to leave immediately before he changed his mind. "I have food!" She held up her sack triumphantly and went to Vetle's stall and saddled him up. She almost considered telling Jon they could share a horse, but she had a feeling that was a sure fire way to get him to change his mind.

Instead, Orrina diligently threw on her saddle and pulled herself up and spurred Vetle out of his stall. Jon was already waiting for her again, mounted on his own horse, looking every bit the Stark everyone said he wasn't. His dark hair curled into his storm grey eyes that still held a look of doubt and insecurity. His long face was accentuated by the slight frown on his lips.

"Stop looking so upset about the prospect of spending the day with me, Jon." She teased him, hoping to lighten the mood between them between nudging Vetle in the sides and leading him out of the stalls.

They rode in silence to the Main Gate that would lead them out into Winter Town, waiting patiently while the gates opened for them. Jon may have not liked being Lord Stark's bastard but it also meant that no one questioned them. They opened the gates and they set out, Orrina's bag of goodies swaying from her saddle.

They didn't speak until they were well into town, the sun was finally starting to rise, and the few people in Winter Town were waking up. Jon lead her and Vetle to the stables where they hitched their horses and took off on foot. Apparently there was a small stream where they could sit together in peace. Not that the few residents of Winter Town were clamoring to know who they were.

The ground was cold and stiff, Orrina wished she had the foresight to bring a blanket with her for them to sit on, but Jon didn't seem to mind. His quiet mood from the gardens carried over and he wasn't in any hurry to talk so instead she pulled out the fresh bread, cheeses and apple she had taken.

Even though Winterfell was safe for her, Orrina never stopped carrying an extra knife on her. Always sheathed and always tucked into her boot for safe keeping. Jon looked mildly surprised when she pulled it out and started cutting up the apple, but didn't say anything just offered her a small smile and shake of his head.

"Don't look surprised, you should know every woman in my family always has at least weapon on their person at any given time," she smiled back at him, bumping her shoulder into his, happy to see the miserable look from his face fade a bit.

"I suppose you're right," Jon chuckled, with a little more spirit. Orrina handed him the roughly cut hunk of bread, trying to ignore the tingle she felt in her spine when their fingers brushed over each other.

They ate in a much more comfortable silence, stream bubbling at a lazy pace as the sun started to rise fully in the sky. Orrina noticed that slowly over time, they were leaning into each other until their shoulders were just barely touching. Feeling bold, she leaned into him more, even contemplating resting her head on his shoulder when she felt him stiffen.

"You shouldn't," he said quietly, unwilling to fully pull away from her.

"Why? Tell me why, Jon." Her words came out more heated than she intended as she straightened up to look at him, noticing how he wouldn't meet her eyes.

"You know why," Jon started, stumbling over his words for a moment, until he looked up and saw the heat in Orrina's eyes. She didn't seem to understand at all, how hard this was for him. "You know exactly why, why are you making it harder?" Jon bit out after a minute, feeling his anger flush over him.

"Do you think I really care about you being a Snow? That I would ever care?" Jon should have known Orrina wouldn't back down, if anything she doubled down. They hadn't known each other for long, but longer than most people their age who were getting married. More importantly, she cared about Jon. She had only been in Winterfell for a few months but Jon Snow had intrigued her from the start. And now she was starting to feel foolish for thinking he felt the same.

"You should care! I can offer you nothing. I have no lands, no titles, not even a last name to give you," Jon stood up abruptly and turned away from her, cheeks red and fists clenched.

"You are an idiot." Orrina didn't get up to follow him, and instead remained seating, arms crossed over her chest until he whirled back around to look at her, retort on his tongue. "I gave up my lands and my titles. I could have been Lady of Bear Island but I gave it back to my aunt because I don't care about that," she hastily brushed her dark hair from her eyes. "I thought you would have realized that by now."

Jon's response died in his throat, clearly he was thick and didn't realize. And Orrina realized that the thought of someone not caring about bastardy, not caring about lands or whatever Lords had to offer to their wives, never occurred to Jon either. So much of his life had revolved around being a bastard and what that meant for his future.

"You know my grandfather asked your father to find a suitable husband for me," she continued after a long pause between them. "He hasn't been able to find someone willing to marry Jorah Mormont's daughter. Not after my father financially ruined our house. Many men aren't eager to marry their sons to Mormonts. None of my cousins are married either."

"My grandfather told me that he asked your father to arrange a match between you and I," Orrina pushed herself up so she was standing across from Jon, the fire in her eyes replaced with something softer. "Even if he hadn't asked, I still wouldn't care about you being a Snow."

The silence stretched between them for a long moment, before Jon felt like he could safely look her in the face. Surely, she must have been jesting with him, there was no way that the Lord Commander would want his granddaughter to marry a bastard.

"If you accuse me of lying about it Jon Snow, I swear to the Old Gods I will throw this knife at you."

Despite the tense situation, Jon had to laugh at that, breaking the tension like a crack through ice. "I didn't know any of that," he replied, fingers unfurling at his side. He had to wonder why his father hadn't told him.

"I don't think it was official." Hesitantly, she took a step towards him, happy he didn't pull away from her this time. "He told me before he left, he wants me to marry for love, not for standing." She cared for Jon, she wasn't sure if she loved him yet, but she knew that she could, and if he allowed her too.

"I have nothing to offer you, Orrina. I'm sure my father could find you a better match." He didn't step back as she inched closer to him though, despite what he was saying. Clearly he wasn't listening to her, it didn't matter how many times she said she didn't care. He wouldn't believe her.

Instead Orrina reached out and took his hands into hers. "Please believe me when I tell you, it doesn't matter to me. I've grown quite fond of you by now Jon Snow, and that's all that does matter to me," she could feel her cheeks burning. She was a bold girl, she was told that more than once, but she had never been so bold with a boy before. "Do you feel the same?"

Brown eyes met his grey Stark eyes and the teens shared a shy smile between them.

"I do."

Alright there you have it! A chapter I've been DYING to write since I started this story. I've envisioned this scene so many different ways and I'm pretty happy with the end result. I wasn't sure if I was going to reveal the betrothal to Jon now, or in a later chapter, but I'm happy with it here. I was toying with adding more towards the end, but I thought it was a sweet note to end on.

However, there is a reason this story is tagged as a slow burn and angsty. So enjoy the sweet moments while they last! I should be starting the next chapter in the next day or so, after I recuperate from a rough week. So hopefully another chapter will be up in the next week or so. Please let me know what you think in the mean time, and what future angst you think I'm planning! Comments really fuel my muses so I would absolutely love to hear from you. Thank you so so much!

Also this marks the last chapter I've written so far. So we all caught up to what I've been writing on Ao3. I'm working on the next chapter now and will be posted here and there!