She and Ned make it a point to go out on their own every once in awhile. In truth, they can both be a bit too duty-bound at points, too consumed with keeping the house running and keeping their kids in line. In theory, they're all more or less old enough to take care of themselves by now, but that doesn't stop Cat from worrying. Still, if they get too absorbed in family matters their children tend to insist they head off and enjoy themselves, which Catelyn is grateful for even if she thinks they also do it so they're not being fussed over constantly. Sansa had insisted as much tonight, since the others were all out and Ned had been slightly nervous about leaving their daughter all alone so late. But Sansa had rolled her eyes and pointed out she was twenty-two and would be living on her own soon, she'd be fine. In truth, they can be a little overprotective of Sansa; they have been ever since that whole nightmare with her first boyfriend, but Cat recognises her little girl is growing up.

Unfortunately, tonight, they've decided to go see a film, but the film they've chosen is boring. Cat forces herself to try and follow along for at least half the runtime, until she gives up and admits she doesn't actually care. Then she finds herself drifting off against Ned's shoulder, but she can't really take a nap – the film might be boring, but it is also loud. She sighs in frustration.

Ned turns to her with a bemused look. "You're not following this bollocks at all either, then?" he whispers.

"Not a word of it."

He huffs in amusement, and she smiles, nuzzling a little against his shoulder. Idly, he runs his fingers through her hair. I suppose I have my nickname for a reason. "Mm," she says, "have you bought new cologne?"

Ned frowns. "Not recently."

"Oh. Well whatever it is, it smells good."

"You probably bought it for me."

"That explains it then."

He chuckles at that, and she moves closer. He does smell nice, warm and earthy and real – the way Ned's always smelt. Beneath his skin, she feels his pulse start to quicken, just barely, which confuses her until she realises – Ned's neck has always been sensitive. She's always quite enjoyed taking advantage of the fact, but still, she's about to move until she considers – this film really isn't good, and it is their date night. She stays where she is.

"You know, Ned," she whispers into his skin, perhaps letting her teeth graze ever so gently, "if neither of us is enjoying the film, we don't have to stay. We could just go home..."

Ned frowns again. She thinks he knows what she's on about, but: "Sansa..."

"Must be in bed by now, mustn't she? It's late." Okay, Cat doesn't really know how late it is, but it sure seems like they've been watching this dreck for hours. Ned is tempted, she knows he's tempted, but she doesn't quite have him convinced yet. Slowly, she starts sliding a hand up his thigh. "Come now," she says. "You don't want me losing control of myself and us to end up doing it right here in the cinema, do you? Terrible example for the children." She can't quite keep back a smile.

Ned sighs and folds his hand over hers – but he doesn't push her away. "No, I suppose not," he says, and when he meets her eye, he's smiling back. "Although at least one of them's already been badly influenced."

Cat flinches as they stand, remembering that whole incident from Robb's graduation, which alas she did not get drunk enough to forget entirely. "I hope you realise I was trying to erase that from my memory."

"Oh. Sorry."

She smiles and pulls him in close. "Don't worry, you can make it up to me."

Alas, before he can they have to drive home, since they're both probably a bit too old to try doing it in the backseat like teenagers – although some part of Cat secretly wants to check, just to be sure. But no, she's good, sighing contentedly and relaxing into the seat. Casually, she runs a hand down her thigh and realises her pantyhose have gotten a little scrunched up. She frowns, and pulls her skirt up to smooth them.

"Cat."

She looks up, and sees Ned is staring at her. "Eyes on the road, dear," she chides, and he rolls his eyes before returning them there. They're both too responsible to risk any accidents here. Still... she finds herself crossing her legs, tilting her body towards him. "We have to be patient, that's all."

"Oh, do we?" Ned mutters, and Cat frowns, wondering if she's missed something.

Either way, they make it back home before they have to pull over and solve the problem. Just about the second she steps out, Ned has her in his arms and places her up on the bonnet so he can kiss her properly, which oh, that's nice, but at the same time he hardly has any grounds to be criticising her for impatience.

"Ned," she murmurs against his lips as his hand makes its way up her skirt, "Ned, if we're too old to do this in the car, we're probably too old to do it on the car as well."

He stops and pulls back, getting an awfully serious look across his face. "Right," he says, and when he helps her back up and leads her inside, she can't help but feel a little disappointed.

All the lights are off, which is good, because it means Sansa's probably gone to bed and they don't have to be so careful, although they should probably try not to wake her up. Cat moans as she feels herself stumbling against the wall, hooking her leg around Ned's thigh, and god, this is taking too long, they need to get upstairs now.

"Bedroom," she says, teeth fixed in Ned's bottom lip, and he chuckles at her.

"What, you want to do it in our actual bed for once?"

She narrows her eyes and bites his lip harder. He doesn't seem to mind though, given how he picks her up and wraps her around his waist once more to carry her up the stairs, and gods, they might not be as young as they once were but he is strong. Not that she's complaining. Now she thinks of it, if they do have the whole house mostly to themselves they could make use of it, but she doesn't want to bring it up now.

The door slams heavily behind them once they get inside, and Ned's quick to press her up against it, and she knows she shouldn't test her luck but part of her can't help but thrill to the idea of him having her right here against the wall, maybe if she's lucky, maybe if she begs, she doesn't like begging but still, she's mewling like her namesake into his mouth which might be close enough, hopefully–

"Please, yes, please, yes, please!"

Her eyes and Ned's go wide simultaneously, and he almost drops her, but manages to catch himself and let her down gracefully. They turn around and see in front of them see their daughter Sansa, on their bed, naked with her head thrown back and eyes closed, and – someone else – sitting behind her.

"That's it, that's my good girl, such a lovely girl, taking it so well, so beautiful and strong," says the other person, face still concealed in Sansa's neck and only some chestnut curls visible, and Cat and Ned are both too dumbstruck to interrupt. "Come for me, sweetheart, you've done so well, you deserve it, come."

And Sansa screams, this person's nails digging into her hips to keep her still as she shudders her way through an orgasm. Oh. That's the noise they hear late at night sometimes. Cat always thought that was foxes.

"That's it, that's my girl," and Sansa smiles, her head finally dropping back down. Then she opens her eyes.

Ah.

"Mum! Dad!" Her eyes go wide as well as she quickly turns the same colour as her hair, hurriedly trying to cover herself with her hands. "You were – I thought you'd be out for – hours–"

"Sansa–"

"I need a shower!"

"Sansa!" That's not them, that's the other person – now Cat can see it's a young woman, a very pretty one too – but either way, Sansa, always spry on her feet, is out the door before any of them can doing about it. And Cat and Ned are left staring at the naked stranger in their bed who's just – what, exactly? – their daughter.

The young woman seems remarkably unperturbed by the situation, although she does look down at the thick, heavy black thing she has strapped between her legs – oh, that's what they were doing – with a little embarrassment. "Well if I'd known we were going to get caught, I might have chosen one of my less intimidating strap-ons," she comments as she moves to remove it, and Cat looks away, as if it's not a little late to give the poor girl privacy. "Sorry, terrible first impression to make. Still. Pleased to meet you. I'm Margaery Tyrell. I'm one of Sansa's uni friends."

Oh. Now she says it, the name Margaery does sound a little familiar – Sansa's mentioned her once or twice, although never in any context that make Cat wonder too much. "Friends?" she queries, wondering if this is going to be like Robb and Theon again; if she's going to have to deal not only with seeing her children have sex, but also that being cue for them to announce they're officially dating the person they got caught with, which Cat still thinks can only end badly but she also knows there's nothing she can do about it, apart from be there for Robb if/when (depending on how charitable she's feeling) Theon breaks his heart.

"Good friends." Margaery smirks a little at that, and Cat narrows her eyes suspiciously. She doesn't know who this young lady is or what she's been up to with her daughter, but if she thinks she'll get away with taking advantage–

"You know what Sansa's like, she's such a romantic. I love her for it, but still, it makes it a bit tricky for her to admit that sometimes, she just wants sex for its own sake. I don't like it when she makes bad decisions, you know, fooling herself she's in love with some guy just because he's hot, and he's only going to use her and hurt her. Maybe it's a little patronising, but still, I figure: better she gets it from a good friend who cares about her, right?"

...Damn her, she's good. Cat does know what Sansa's like, and she can't help but think this Margaery has a point. But still, she hardly knows the girl. Who, while currently getting dressed, is still technically naked on her bed.

"So, whose idea was it to do it here then?" she asks, folding her arms across her chest.

Margaery winces a little. "Mine, I'm afraid," she says. "I wouldn't have, but Sansa's bed is rather narrow, and I was afraid she might fall and hurt herself."

Oh dammit. Margaery casually pulls her jeans up around her waist and tucks her strap-on back into her handbag, then sighs and stands. "Right, well – I might want to go talk to Sansa, convince her everything's going to be alright and she will be able to face you for the rest of her life." She pauses. "Unless you want me to help change the sheets?"

"No, that's... fine," Cat says. Margaery grins at her.

"Right. Well, lovely meeting you both," she says before walking off, seemingly not needing to be told where the bathroom is, and really that is not the word Cat would have used but – if Sansa has to have casual sex with her friends in their bed, she does seem to have chosen an awfully sweet girl to do it with.

Once Margaery's gone Cat turns to look at Ned, the mood definitely killed, and for a long moment he just stares at the bed, before sighing in resignation. "So, should we change the sheets then?"

Cat winces. "Oh, don't worry, I'll take care of it. I owe you one, don't I?"

Ned seems surprised. "If you're sure, love," he says, and Cat sighs.

Really, if she'd just suffered through the movie.