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Gwynne could feel the heat rushing to her face as Ned eyed curiously. He said nothing else as he silently closed the door behind him and walked further into the room. He looked around, searching for an intruder of some sort. That was always his first thought when it came to any of his girls. His sons could take care of themselves but he worried when it came to the Stark women. And Gwynne, of course.
"Is everything alright, Gwynne?"
"Yes. I'm sorry, my Lord." Her words came out in a stutter. Every person in Winterfell could tell that everything wasn't alright with her and Ned Stark was no exception.
He sat down on the edge of her bed and watched her carefully. Her eyes were red and puffy, her lips swollen. He frowned. "What's wrong, Gwynne?"
Her eyes fell to her lap as her fingers played with one another nervously. She let out a shaky sigh, blinking her tears away. "I've done something foolish." Her voice was no higher than a whisper.
"You wouldn't be the first to fall in love with two people at the same time, Gwynne, and you certainly won't be the last. You have to figure out what you want. What you truly want."
Truth be told, the whole situation terrified Ned. He loved both Jon and Robb and wouldn't be able to stand by and watch one of their hearts broken. But he knew that it was more complicated than that. He knew Gwynne and was fully aware of how much agony she must be in by being in love with two men at once. It was a situation that could only end in heartbreak.
"Loving two people can be hard. One person inevitably has their heart broken." Ned stood up and walked over to Gwynne, leaning down to place a quick kiss on her forehead. "Be careful with my son's hearts, Gwynne. Hearts never do forget the first time they're broken."
With that, he was gone.
Robb's oversized boots kicked up a cloud of dust as they collided with the ground. He led his horse to the trunk of a tree and tied his reign around the thick bark. Robb patted the beast on the side and made his way over to his half brother. He took a seat beside him and reached out to grab a slice of bread from Jon's hands.
They had been babies when they first met each other and they had grown into young men within the blink of an eye. They shared as many experiences and spent as much time together as Lady Stark would allow. Had she had it her way they wouldn't have seen each other at all. Thankfully, her lord husband stood up for Jon when he could and put his foot down on the subject of separating the small boy from his sibling.
It was because of Lord Stark that the boys were able to form a friendship that neither of them could ever have with another person. Or, so they thought.
"Jon, I want us to make a promise to each other." Robb took a bite of bread and swallowed it with a gulp. They had been riding for most of the day and hadn't given food a second thought. Had Robb not suddenly heard the rumble of his stomach over their roaring laughter, they probably would have gone the rest of the day without breaking their fast.
"Yes, Robb, I promise to always love you." Jon rolled his eyes and took a swig from the pouch of water clutched in his hands.
Robb slapped his brother on the shoulder. "I'm being serious, Jon."
"Okay, go on."
"I want you to promise me that no one will ever come between us."
Jon gave his brother a confused look. "What are you talking about? Who could come between us?"
"A woman." Gwynne.
Jon didn't say anything. For the first time in a long time he was at a loss for words. He looked at his brother while he stared back.
"Jon, I know you have feelings for Gwynne and I don't want that to ever come between us."
"Why would that ever come between us?" Jon wasn't stupid. He knew the answer. Because one day she would be married to Robb, or some other Lord.
"Because you know you can never have her. She may never be either of ours, only the Gods know. But I do know that, no matter what happens, I don't want to lose my brother."
Jon smiled slightly. "You'll never lose me, brother."
Robb felt a cool night breeze creep in through the window, gently caressing his skin as it floated through the room. A small sigh slipped through his lips as he rested his head in the palm of his hands, his blue eyes staring intently at the ceiling aimlessly. That seemed like a distant memory now, he realized. So much had changed since then.
He, Jon and Gwynne had always been together. They would accompany her to her sewing class once they had broken their fast, and every break they had between classes had been spent finding one another and catching up on their day so far. But as the years past, Robb realized that Gwynne spent more and more time with his younger sisters. She was always listening to Sansa's gossip and running after Arya in the courtyard. As Jon grew older, he learned to understand more of Cat's hatred and began to distance himself from his brother. He hadn't isolated himself completely from Robb, but whenever Cat was in the vicinity, Jon made sure to steer clear of the young heir.
And, of course, there was the fact that both brothers had developed feelings for Gwynne. Feelings that extended beyond friendship. They had discussed their feelings a couple of times but it wasn't long before the topic became an awkward one. It had quickly become a forbidden subject that neither brother wanted to bring up.
His mind began to drift to the future. If he married Gwynne, would that ruin their friendship with Jon forever? Would Jon leave for the Nights Watch feeling nothing but envy and resentment towards his brother? No, their bond was stronger than that. If Robb and Gwynne did marry, Jon would understand. He would give them their blessings and wish them all the children the Gods would bless them with. It would hurt the bastard but he would overcome it. Eventually.
He jumped up in bed suddenly. He heard something coming from Gwynne's room. He froze and listened carefully, hoping to hear the noise again. It was so sudden he hadn't even been able to identify the sound. Was it a scream? He heard a loud whimper and bolted up from his bed, bursting out of his room and darting towards her door.
He ran into her room and looked around, searching for an intruder. But there was no one. Just Gwynne, tossing and turning frantically in bed.
"Gwynne! Gwynne!" He whispered loudly, rushing to her side. He tried to shake her awake, or at least to stop her from hurting herself.
She blinked several times until she could finally make out Robb's face in the darkness and she began to relax. She was covered in sweat and panting as she sat up, putting a shaky hand on her forehead.
"Are you okay?" Robb asked urgently. He had seen her have nightmares before, he had woken her from many of them. But he had never seen her like this. It was alarming and it had his heart beating frantically in his chest.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." She whispered over and over again.
"Gwynne, what's wrong?" Robb reached out and put a hand over hers. Her hand disappeared under his instantly.
"Nothing. I'm sorry. It was just a dream." She felt her face heat up from embarrassment. Her heart was pounding, she couldn't stop shaking and she was covered in so much sweat it looked as though she had just been out in the rain.
"Was it about Jon?" Had she dreamt that he had gotten hurt? Or worse?
She shook her head and wiped the sweat from her forehead. "No...my father."
Robb nodded solemnly. "I'm sorry, Gwynne. Was it the one you always have?" She had it so often and remembered such detail that he was all too familiar with the reoccurring nightmare. It was her father's final moments. How he laid in agonizing pain and cursed himself for leaving his daughter an orphan. He was always broken and bloody and his face would leave Gwynne in tears for hours.
"No...it was...something else." She didn't want to go into detail. She couldn't. Not now.
Robb lifted his hand from hers and wiped away one of her tears. He cradled her face in his palm and massaged her skin with his thumb. He hadn't realized he was wearing nothing but thin pants until a breeze snuck in through the open window beside them. He felt his cheeks heat up suddenly. He was glad it was nearly pitch black in the room.
He knew that her nightmare had nothing to do with him. Robb was in no way conceited. But something had been bothering him the entire night. Now wasn't the best time, he knew that. But he couldn't help himself when the words slipped through his lips.
"Did I upset you when I kissed you earlier tonight?"
Gwynne shook her head and placed her hand over his. "No, Robb. I just...I was surprised."
"Why would me kissing you surprise you, Gwynne? You have to know that I've wanted to kiss you for so long, now."
He had? Only the Gods know he had never shown it. He was always with some girl, running around Winterfell and sneaking off to kiss her in the woods. She had grown up accustomed to him breaking her heart each day. All she had ever wanted was for him to kiss her in the woods. And now here he is, soon to be her husband, and she was thinking about his brother.
His brother who deserted you.
Gwynne's eyes fell to Robb's chest and it was only then that she realized he was shirtless. It was dark in the room but the moon lit up the contours of Robb's defined chest to her just fine. He had been sending more and more time training with his father's men. And the time he spent training was paying off.
His stomach beckoned her fingers towards them and before she knew it, her fingertips were tracing his muscles. She started from his chest and trailed down his skin, leaving a trail of goosebumps behind them. She found his stomach and felt his abs tense under her touch as they came to a stop at the edge of his breeches. It was then that she snapped back to reality and realized what she had just done.
Robb's breath hitched as he felt himself stiffen from her touch. He tried as hard as he could to suppress it before Gwynne saw it. But it was no use. He could feel the heat radiating off her palm, the warmth summoning himself to grow harder and bigger within seconds.
Gwynne glanced down and saw his erection just inches away from her hand. She had overheard stories of what to do with a man's erection, but she had never dared to try. She had thought about it once, but she wasn't sure Jon would have let her touch him. To a certain point, she had wanted to be experienced for the man she would marry. She wanted to be able to please him in bed more than anything else. But she had never been brave enough to touch Jon in that way.
But she was to marry Robb. Shouldn't she begin learning how to please him? She was to be his wife...surely she would let him touch her.
She steadied her hand as much as she could and reached just a few inches lower. She found his manhood and closed her palm around it. He let out a sharp breath, his grip on her cheek tensing against her skin. He reached down, his free hand wrapping around hers as he guided it up and down. Within a few seconds, she had grown accustomed to the rhythm and motion and his hand found its way to her face.
He pulled her into him, his lips crashing into hers, as she continued to stroke him. His body was raging, his crotch aching and desperately asking for more. He couldn't feel her the full warmth of her through his pants. He wanted to feel her palm stroking him. He wanted to feel himself buried deep inside of her, stretching her out and filling her with his seed.
Robb leaned forward, gently pushing Gwynne onto her back. He climbed over her and soon she could no longer reach him. Her hands rested on his back, her fingertips digging into his skin as he began to move his hips against her. He muttered her name between kisses as he moved against her harder and faster.
He would give up being the heir of Winterfell if he could feel himself moving within her in that moment. He heard the voice in the back of his head, reminding him that she was to be his wife. If she gave her his maidenhead tonight it would make no difference than if they had waited until their wedding night.
His fingers ached to reach down to his breeches and just pull them off. But he couldn't bring himself to do it. He wouldn't take something she wasn't ready to give. And he knew her well enough to now that would be too much for the time being.
It was then that he realized it made no difference. One day, he would have her. He would be inside of her and he would make her pregnant with their first child. Until then, he would gladly make do with simply rubbing himself against her.
He found his head buried in Gwynne's neck as he let out a throaty moan, her hair somewhat muffling the sound. He ground himself against her, could feel the warmth coming from the center of her and found himself struggling to hold on.
Robb whispered her name one more time before he found himself spilling his seed in his pants. He shut his eyes tightly and took in a deep breath, the scent of her hair filling his lungs as he continued to finish against her. He was panting, somewhat embarrassed from what he had just done.
He hadn't meant it to happen. He didn't come here to pray off her in a time of need and comfort. If she had been that upset earlier with just a kiss, how upset would she be with him now? He was hesitate to look at her. Eventually, he tore himself away from her neck and looked down at her, sweat covering his brow.
She simply smiled at him, her eyes heavy and tired. "Will you spend the night with me, Robb?"
He smiled and laughed with relief. "I would be honoured, Gwynne."
He cleaned himself off the best he could and crawled back into bed with her. His arms wrapped around her and pulled her into him. Before long, Gwynne was fast asleep in Robb's arms. It wasn't long after that that Robb found himself drifting off and thankful to the Gods for giving him all he had ever wanted in a wife.
"Your father and your Lord is going to murder the both of you." Theon's voice abruptly woke Robb and Gwynne in the early hours of the morning.
They both nearly jumped out of bed distraught by the sudden visitor.
"Theon, get out!" Robb warned him as Gwynne cowered under her thin sheet. She was fully clothed in a nightgown but she still felt naked under Theon's eyes.
"Lord Stark came to check on you, Gwynne. You can imagine his surprise when he came across his son in bed with you!" Theon was crying from laughter. He was enjoying this far too much.
"He wants to speak to the both of you. Now. In his study."
"Theon, get out." Robb repeated through gritted teeth. Theon rose his hands in defeat and left Robb and Gwynne alone in her bedchamber.
Gwynne glanced over at him as he threw the sheet off himself and got to his feet. "Your father is going to be furious with us." She couldn't remember the last time she had seen Lord Stark angry, but she knew how upset he could get. It could be terrifying.
"I'll handle my father, don't worry." He glanced over to look at her and gave her a smile. Leaning over the bed, he found her lips and gave her a quick kiss. "We'll be fine, Gwynne."
Robb opened the door to his father's study and was ready to defend his night with Gwynne. He found himself startled when his father looked up at them with a confused look and asked them why they were there and if anything was alright.
Robb walked through the castle halls with Gwynne by his side as they searched for Theon, irritated and angry. They found him by the stables, chatting with one of the women who looked after the horses. Robb shoved Theon back a few steps and it was enough to send the girl running.
"Is that your version of a joke, Theon?" Robb screamed at his father's ward.
"That was a horrible thing to do, Theon." Gwynne joined in.
"Well, maybe next time you'll know better than to spend the night together. You might have been able to get away with sneaking into our rooms when we were children, Gwynne, but I assure you, Robb's parents will feel differently about it now."
Gwynne rolled her eyes. "I never snuck into your room, Theon." She reminded him.
He licked his lips and took a step closer to her. "Maybe you will now, Gwynne. I'll show you what being with a real man feels like."
Robb pushed him away again. "Get out of here, Theon. Before I make you regret your very existence."
Theon smiled at Robb's empty threat. "Anytime, Stark. Anytime."
They watched Theon walk away and it wasn't long before they erupted in laughter.
"Don't worry, Robb, one day we'll get him back." Gwynne assured him.
"I can't wait for that day, Gwynne. You have no idea."
"Come. Let's break our fast. I'm starving." She smiled at him as she took a hold of his hand and led him back towards the castle.
She wasn't sure what it was that she and Jon had but it was over now. In all the years she had known him, she had never once turned her back on him. And she had liked to think that no matter what he did, she never would. But he had left her. He turned his back on her and left her to fend for herself in the woods. He had moved on and left her behind so maybe it was only right for her to do the same.