Brienne hisses at the feeling of the cold wind slapping in her face as she steps out of Tormund's car. Nothing could have prepared her for such low temperatures, not even the weeks she had spent in Winterfell a while ago. Really, how can it be this cold at Hardhome? She is already on her way to regretting let him talk her into taking her father Selwyn to spend the holidays here in a few month's time. At least she is glad to be outside, since her base layers were starting to bother her.
She leans on his car and quickly adjusts her pink earmuffs, puts the hood of her black parka on and covers her mouth with her gloved hands, breathing into them. She sees Tormund take his place by her side on the sidewalk. He wears his favorite pair of boots, jeans, a blue jacket and the green scarf she had given him as a gift, but his hands are bare and his red locks blow in the wind. She is decidedly envious of him.
"How about this cold, eh?" he elbows her lightly.
"Very funny," she utters after removing her hands from her mouth, then she rolls her eyes.
"Come on, it's not that cold, is it? It's not even snowing! Trust me, love, I've had worse."
"Worse than this? Gods, I'm bloody freezing!" The blond woman crosses her arms in front of her chest. "How have you managed to survive this weather?"
"You have to always keep moving. Walking is good, fighting is better, but fucking is the absolute best. And," he grins wickedly at her, his voice husky, "I'll make sure we have loads of it."
Brienne makes a fake innocent face. "Walking? Or fighting?"
Tormund laughs and shakes his head. "Yeah, I'll just pretend I believe you don't know what I mean."
"We're not gonna do it at your family's place, though. I don't know them, and they don't know me!"
"I wouldn't say that," the redhead man giggles.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, I might or might not have said a word or two about you," he replies with a childish smile.
Brienne raises one eyebrow, but smiles back at her boyfriend. "More like twenty or thirty."
"You know me too well," he pauses to place a quick kiss to her lips. "Besides, we're gonna stay at my old flat, so we can keep warm together in peace, maybe have some fondue and champagne by the hearth."
"And have loads of fucking?" She gives him an expectant look, not quite believing she has just said that. "Is that a promise, Mr Giantsbane?"
"Aye, you can count on me, Miss Tarth," Tormund chuckles as he wraps one arm around her waist to lead her to his brother Toregg's front door.
"That sounds so romantic!" Brienne chuckles along with him, returning his embrace. "Who would've thought?"
They stop by the door and, just when Tormund is about to ring the bell, Brienne lets out a heavy sigh, nervousness suddenly creeping into her, which interrupts his action.
"What's wrong?" he asks, his voice filled with concern.
"I," she snorts awkwardly. "I think I know just how you felt when I took you to introduce you to my father."
He frowns. "Why? This is going to be so much easier for you. It's not like you're meeting my parents or searching for their approval."
"For which I'm deeply sorry." In a sympathetic gesture, Brienne places her free hand on his bearded cheek and caresses it, causing him to smile in thanks. The story of how Tormund lost his parents to a car accident when he was little had been hard for her to hear. It will always amaze her how he has overcome such a great loss. The man is a true hero.
She continues, "Still I'm not sure about that, Tormund. I mean, I know they're your siblings, but… They're still your family. What if they don't like me?"
He gently removes her hood, takes her face in his hands and presses his lips against hers in a gentle, reassuring kiss, which makes her feel a little less colder. She cover his hands with her own, but before she has time to sink into the kiss, his mouth slowly leave hers so that he can gaze up right into her eyes.
"Please don't worry about it, Bri," Tormund pleads. "They love you already."
For some reason his affirmation surprises her. "Do they? How?"
"Aye! As you've correctly guessed, I've been talking to them about you for ages, and they're now dying to meet you. It's gonna be alright, I promise."
"And what exactly have you told them?"
"Well, you know, just that you are the most wonderful woman in this entire world and some variations," he shrugs, his thumbs caressing her cheekbones.
Brienne feels herself blush once again, thanks to his words and those beautiful, intense green eyes of his on her. Why is it that Tormund always makes her blush like a shy teenager girl, even after all these months together? Will she ever stop blushing? She honestly hopes not.
She wants to tell him that he is most wonderful man in this entire world, but she finds herself unable to speak, so instead she just looks at him for a few seconds before her mouth covers his, silently hoping he would get her meaning.
"You are impossible, dear," she whispers once they break the kiss.
"I love you too," he beams cheekly at her. "Now these earmuffs look cute on you, but let me take them off."
As Tormund does so, Brienne removes her wool gloves and tucks both articles inside her purse. Then he grabs her hands and entwines his fingers with hers.
"You ready?" he asks.
She takes one last deep breath. "Yes."
He finally rings the bell, and they are greeted by a jovial ginger she believes to be Toregg, who screams her name and hugs her like she were a friend or a relative he had not seen in a very long time.
Yup. It's gonna be alright, she thinks.