Chapter 8: A Girl Like You (May/June 1995)

From outside, there was the crinkling sound of metal making contact with metal followed by a loud car door slam, then angry, unintelligible yelling and swearing. This was the first thing that brought Sansa out of her task-oriented mindset in hours. Today would be the second time she'd moved in her whole life, and while the idea was still a little bit weird to her, packing had never stressed her out the way it did some people. She enjoyed going through her things, reminiscing as she packed each item away carefully, able to quietly take stock, mentally organizing her life to prepare it for the next chapter. It even extended to helping others move - when Uncle Benjen moved and especially when Robb and Jon moved down to HPU a few years back. With everything that had happened, it had been a great relief to help both her brothers go through all their things, despite getting sidetracked over and over again by all the things from their childhood they'd forgotten about.

She heard footsteps coming up the stairs to her room and when they stopped, she saw Ygritte hanging just outside the door, hands wrapped around the side of the door frame, hair a wild mess that was being held back by a wide headband that wasn't exactly doing a stellar job.

"Before you ask, everyone is alive down there. Your brothers and that awful Greyjoy ass are just yellin' at each other now since he walked your filing cabinet into the bed of the pick-up," she explained, shrugging a bit of apology and then coming the rest of the way into Sansa's room. "Didn't even leave a scratch but they're goin' on like it's the end of the flipping world. It's just an old pick-up, not like it's that nice car Mags has got. Anyways, we've got everything big that's going with you, so we're all ready for your clothes in my car. Those all set?"

Sansa nodded and handed over two suitcases to Ygritte, did a quick once-over of the room, and helped carry another suitcase and a duffel bag downstairs to the pick-up. There was just enough room in the small cab for the suitcases and Jon, Theon, and Robb crammed into the front bench seat of the Ranger. Sansa hopped into the front seat of Ygritte's car, where Margaery was already seated in back. She passed the duffel bag to Margaery, who set it to the side and quickly reached forward, grabbing Sansa's hand and lacing their fingers together.

"You sad to see it go?"

Sansa looked out the window as Ygritte began to pull away from the house, watching it grow smaller in the background. She shook her head. "Sad? As if," she answered. "Besides, we're only moving like two miles away, it's not like I'll never be back here again... so no, I'm not sad at all to be leaving here. It means I get to move in with you."

Margaery smiled, leaning further forward to kiss Sansa's hand.

"Gross me out guys," Ygritte said, winking at them. "Could you two get any more disgusting?"

"Oh, you're lucky there's not enough room for Sansa to climb back there," Margaery answered laughing, "because I'd definitely try."

All three of them laughed at that, only to fall into more laughter at the next red light, when the boys pulled up beside them and Theon revved the engine of the pick-up, only to mess up shifting, stall the engine, and get left behind at the light, probably getting berated to all seven hells and back by Robb and Jon for making them look bad. The rest of the move went smoothly, with minimal arguing between the boys about which way this bookshelf should go up the stairs, or who should walk up first, or what the most efficient way to move a desk around a corner was. Margaery stopped Sansa in her tracks on her first load of items up the stairs, insisting that she put them aside so she could be carried across the threshold. The group took this as an invitation to watch, Margaery reminding them all that it was not a spectator sport as she first tried to pick up Sansa bridal style, gave up, and ended up giving her a piggy-back ride through the door as everyone else whistled and clapped.

It took the rest of the afternoon to get the apartment furniture situated as best they could. The following week and weekend would be a blur, packed with the extended Tyrell family in town for Margaery's graduation, the last of finals for the year for Sansa, as well as Arya coming to move in and start her 'suspiciously close to Gendry' art department job. As a bit of a last hurrah for the group before some of them went their separate ways, they wanted to go out, to a bar, or maybe dancing as Margaery always suggested, but exhaustion from moving called the shots, ending those plans. The group that had become family over the past two years, Robb, Jon, Ygritte, Theon, Gendry, Sansa, and Margaery, found themselves in the same place as always - the couches of the Stark house family room - with takeout pizza from Kneeling Man and beers from Highgarden Brewery, watching Reality Bites on VHS, and tossing popcorn at Theon when he wouldn't shut up about how cute Winona Ryder was.

XxXxX

It had been a few weeks earlier, the beginning of April. Margaery's graduation date was slowly approaching, well, quickly approaching actually, especially when Sansa watched how stressed her girlfriend was getting about her impending finals. Since the semester started, Margaery had been talking about moving out of the Growing Strong Co-op house and getting an apartment, maybe something that was a little more in the downtown area, a little closer to the main building for her Masters program, and a lot more quiet than living in a house with thirty people where you had to share everything. Earlier in the day, Margaery had called over to Sansa's house to, rather excitedly, let her know that the apartment complex she's had her eyes on lately had an early move out and the unit that would become hers was ready much earlier than expected. The previous occupant had moved out three days earlier and they'd already finished working on repairs and steaming the carpets.

They both had early classes that day, and took Margaery's little red Mercedes downtown, this time with Sansa driving. Margaery had declared her safe to drive over a year ago, but despite that, Sansa still felt nervous driving that particular car in even the little bit of traffic that Highgarden offered. It doesn't help that she refers to the car as 'Cherry Baby' half the time or washes it more often than her bio lab coats. She was glad of the lessons since it had given her just more excuses to take drives around The Reach with Margaery, even if with those lessons came Theon telling her over and over again, with that stupid smug Greyjoy smile she knew he shared with his sister she'd met once, that he'd be more than happy to teach her how to 'drive stick.'

After stopping by quickly at the apartment building to grab the keys from the office manager and signing some paperwork saying that she in fact had said keys, Margaery had decided they needed to celebrate with a stroll around downtown, possibly stopping for ice cream before heading back to continue studying for her finals.

"...so, did I hear correctly that Arya is moving in with you guys early?" Margaery asked.

Sansa had not been looking forward about talking about this topic to anyone - which included Margaery, Arya, her brothers, and especially not her mother who would be joining her father in a few short weeks to help Arya move her things. There should've been an open room at the house since Theon was finally graduating and moving home to Pyke to help out with the family's shipping business, a decision which he hated to make, but ultimately seemed out of his control. If she was truthful, Sansa was not looking forward to seeing him leave. She wouldn't say it out loud to anyone, but they were close, they somehow understood each other. At that point, Arya moving to campus was a non-issue, until Gendry somehow ended up being next in line for Theon's room, an arrangement made between the two that they hadn't bothered to mention until recently. Not surprising to anyone, right around the time that it was decided Gendry would take Theon's ground floor room, Arya announced she had found a summer job in the art department, cataloging student portfolios or something equally as mindless as that, and that she'd need to move in sooner, right after high school graduation.

"Yea, you heard right. Same weekend that you graduate, so that'll be a fun-filled weekend of family," Sansa replied sarcastically, taking Margaery's hand. It had taken Sansa a while to get used to being affectionate at all towards Margaery in public, but after a while with only a few obnoxious comments and some rude stares, she started to believe it when Margaery said that Highgarden had always been pretty tolerant. "I'm pretty sure that Gendry has had something to do with getting her that job. It's in his department and last time I spoke to my dad he said that Arya's been on the phone in her room a lot lately. My bet's that those two'll totally get together, like, a minute after our parents leave the driveway... if they haven't already."

"Hold up - she's not staying in his room, is she? You're dad is pretty cool and all, but I don't think he's quite that progressive to let his eighteen year old freshman daughter bunk with some guy that's almost a senior, no matter how much of a gentleman he is."

"Honestly? I've got less of a clue than you do, Mags, but I've got a sinking feeling that a few weeks from now we'll be shoving another creaky bed frame into my room. At least he's got his own room downstairs for whenever they want to..." her voice trailed off, but Margaery got the idea from the less-than-pristine hand gesture Sansa made, knowing all the jokes from Theon must be rubbing off on her a bit. They passed a trash can and Sansa reached over, throwing the paper cup and plastic spoon from her ice cream away. "It's just so freaking difficult. I really do love Arry and I hate to whine, but I don't want to share my room with her anymore. Maybe if I had someone else that wanted to live with me," she added quickly and quietly, just above a whisper.

"Sansa, wait a sec," Margaery said, stopping right where she was on the sidewalk and grabbing on to Sansa's hand to stop her as well. "I know I'm not usually as quick at picking up on things as you are, but are you trying to ask if you can move in with me?"

Sansa looked down at her feet, as if the Keds she wore were very interesting all of a sudden, and when she looked up at her girlfriend again there was a blushing smile across her face, streaked with the faintest hint of terror. She opened her mouth and shut it twice before all her thoughts came sliding out. "Well... I was - I was just thinking that since Arya is moving here and she can't have Theon's room because of Gendry and I'd have to share my room with her so I'd always be at your apartment anyways and -"

"Whoa now, babe. Calm it down. You're rambling, run-on sentences and everything," She guided her over to sit down on a stone bench that surrounded one of the trees that lined the downtown street. "So, let's start again. You'd like to move in with me?"

Sansa nodded. Sweet sacred mother, more than I've ever wanted anything in my life, she thought.

"Then why didn't you suggest it?

"I don't know..."

"Come on, Sans, we need to talk about these kinds of things when they come up. Is it because I didn't ask you?"

"Well, a little bit, but I guess I just didn't want to seem like I was rushing things, ya know? I don't want to be that lesbian that shows up on your front lawn with a U-Haul!" She ran her free hand through her hair, forgetting that she'd braided it that morning and managing to mess it up, then trying not to let that bother her too.

"Sansa, we've been together for almost two and a half years, if you're going by U-Haul lesbian stereotypes I think we're practically married," Margaery laughed out loud at herself when she said that, and when she saw the small smile that looked like it was itching to emerge on Sansa's face she added, "Besides, it's a city apartment. No front lawn for you to park your U-Haul. But really, I should've made up my mind to do something about this sooner."

Margaery reached over, pulling Sansa in closer to her. She paused for a moment and pushed a bit of Sansa's hair back behind her ear, the part that she'd messed up seconds earlier, then pressed a kiss to her temple.

"What in the hells are you doing, babe?" Sansa asked, watching Margaery drop down onto her knees on the cement sidewalk, going through that giant slouchy bag she always carried.

After what seemed like forever, she pulled out a small paper envelope, which Sansa recognized from earlier at the apartment office, then sat in shock as well as a good amount of confusion, when Margaery brought up one knee, looking very intently at Sansa.

"Sansa Stark," Margaery started, pulling one of Sansa's hands from her lap and covering it with her own, "It's been over two years since we've been together, and for that amount of time you've made me the happiest and luckiest girl this side of the Narrow Sea. Neither of us are perfect people, but we're perfect for each other, and there is nothing I would like more than to wake up to you on the left side of my bed each morning." She paused, pulling out the key from the paper bag and holding it up in front of Sansa between her thumb and forefinger. "So, with that, Sansa Stark, will you do me the honor of not only continuing to be my amazing girlfriend, but to be my amazing girlfriend who lives with me?"

The most appropriate term to describe her at that moment was a deer in headlights, Sansa would later recall when asked by everyone back at the Stark house later that evening. If a deer in headlights is capable of laughing, crying, and nodding their heads enthusiastically that yes, yes they'd love to move in with you, you dumb, perfect, amazing girl. She'd covered her mouth with her hand, partially in shock, and partially because years of learning proper manners still had it drilled into her head that it was the polite thing to do instead of just let your jaw drop to catch flies. About six or seven passersby had stopped on the street to watch what was happening, probably thinking it was a marriage proposal instead of a "will you become my live-in girlfriend" proposal, but Sansa wouldn't have cared if all of Westeros was there watching this live on television. She quickly grabbed the key from Margaery's outstretched hand and let herself practically fall into her arms as she ended up kneeling next to her on the sidewalk.

"So, that's a yes, right?" Margaery asked, smiling such a huge smile that Sansa could practically feel it.

Sansa pulled back from Margaery for a second, letting her see the obvious eye roll. "Yes, Margaery. That's a yes, I'll move in with you. That's a yes, please can we move now? That's a yes, dear gods, I love you so can we go to Bed, Bath, and Beyond and choose a comforter together?"

Margaery let go of her, standing to help her up and hand over her purse. "You've got it, first outing for our new apartment - Bed, Bath, and Beyond," she agreed, tossing her car keys over to Sansa with a smile a quick wink. "But you're driving."

XxXxX

All of their guests had finally left for the night, and Sansa closed the apartment door behind the last few stragglers, turning the deadbolt closed and locking the little chain link lock that Margaery insisted was definitely not necessary in this area of Highgarden. The housewarming party had been a huge success. Their apartment wasn't huge by any means, but Sansa had still let all the neighbors know there'd be people over and to expect some noise. It wasn't crazy, but it was just what they wanted - all their friends, good music, lots of food, dancing. Theon had driven back from Pyke for the night and Sansa, Robb, and Jon had watched as Gendry tried to tip-toe around his affections for Arya, who was hellbent on not doing the same.

Sansa let out an exhausted sigh, turned her back against the door, and let herself slide down to the carpet. She watched with a smile on her face as Margaery walked across from the living room over to the kitchen, picking up empty plastic cups and beer bottles on her way.

"I absolutely cannot believe that this is my life, Mags. Tonight was amazing," Sansa said, not realizing she'd actually said it aloud until she heard Margaery reply back to her from the kitchen.

"It's not over yet."

"What do you mean?" she replied back. She couldn't see Margaery, could only hear her rustling things around in the kitchen and closing various cupboards. A few seconds later, Margaery left the kitchen and walked over to look at Sansa, still sitting on the floor and leaning against the front door.

"Well," she started, first wiping her hands off on the back of her cut-off jean shorts before crouching down to be at eye level with Sansa. "I got down on one knee to ask you to move in, I piggy-backed you across the threshold, and we just finished having our big party... but we've yet to have our first dance."

"First dance? Mags, it's like, two-thirty in the morning, you've gotta be kidding me. I danced all night and now all I wanna do right now is go to bed and forget about cleaning up this mess until morning."

"Nope. We need this to make it perfect." She shot a smile at her as she walked over to the stereo, moving a couple more stray empty cups off the top of it. "Now where did that tape go..." she said to herself, then looked over and quickly grabbed a cassette case off the table."A-ha! Got it!" she announced, taking the cassette out of the case and putting it in the tray. She pushed play, and turned towards Sansa, who was still sitting on the floor against the front door. "Sansa Stark, I'm gonna need you to get off your ass and come dance with me."

Sansa shook her head and smiled, pushing herself up off the carpet. She made her way towards Margaery, took her hand, and pulled her into a waltz position, immediately going into the leading role she'd had to play many times in dance classes in order to teach some of the younger ones.

"No need to be that formal, babe," Margaery laughed as the intro the song started and Sansa found the rhythm and began to whirl her about the room. "It's a just a pop song, but I knew you'd love it."

"Why is it on cassette?" Sansa asked. "You never buy tapes anymore since you got the new stereo."

Margaery smiled like she had a secret, or knew something was up, and just couldn't wait for Sansa to figure things out. She took her hands out of the formal position, draped both around Sansa's shoulders, and slowed them until they were slow dancing like high schoolers, just swaying back and forth. "I heard it the other day, on that radio show that plays new songs... Listen. Never known a girl like you before? It's perfect."

"Margaery..."

"It's not out yet, so I bought a blank cassette on the drive home and played the radio all day, waiting for it to come on again so I could tape it for you," she explained, pulling Sansa in closer until she could kiss her neck, then rested her head on Sansa's shoulder for the rest of the song.

Sansa continued the slow swaying, absentmindedly drawing circles on Margaery's back through her t-shirt, and listened to the words knowing Margaery had spent quite a bit of time so that she could hear the song. It made sense immediately once listened to the lyrics, and it was true - she'd never known a girl like Margaery Tyrell before. She'd never had a girlfriend before, but all the other crushes she'd had couldn't ever compare to this. Sure, she understood that Margaery wasn't perfect - she was excellent at forgetting plans they'd made, procrastinating and then over-working herself with all-nighters in the biology lab, and in contrast to Sansa's realism she was ideal about the world, almost to a fault. On the other hand, Margaery had always been there for her, since the day they met - Margaery on her step ladder on the other side of the fence and Sansa sitting on the roof outside her window. She had challenged her, pushed her to do the things she seemed content just to daydream about, like applying for a summer intern spot at the Highgarden Tribune and trying out for the hockey team.

The song ended and pulled Sansa out of her thoughts. She looked down at Margaery, standing still with her head still on Sansa's shoulder, and smiled. "It was perfect, Mags. Thank you," she said.

Margaery lifted her head and yawned through what Sansa thought was a "I knew you'd love it," but it was difficult to tell. Sansa bent down and kissed her softly. "Come on, let's get you to bed before you fall asleep right here," Sansa said, giving Margaery a little push towards the hallway. "I'll get the lights."

As Margaery made her way to their room, Sansa turned off the kitchen lights, then paused at the stereo. She pressed the eject button for the cassette and replaced it into its case. I've got a few ideas of what to add to you, Sansa thought, as she set it on top of a stack of CDs so it wouldn't get misplaced. Tomorrow though, I've got better places to be right now. She turned off the last light and headed to bed, realizing halfway there that she was already humming the song.

Notes: Almost a year between updates, my apologies. The song for this is Edwyn Collins' A Girl Like You, which is probably best known from the Empire Records soundtrack. Sorry for the lack of updates! Hope you enjoyed :)