"What!?" I growled, digging my fingers into the carpet. Jaime Lannister was our only goalie, it wasn't like a field players were you could almost always find a replacement. Goalies were hard to come by. Out JV team had one, but there was no way he would survive in a varsity semi-final game. Robb looked around the room at all of us. Renly glanced at me, worry in his face. I noticed he seemed slightly sweaty, like had had been working out.
"He got banned, because of the incident," Robb motioned to me and I felt all of the eyes of my teammates land on me or more importantly on my nose. I felt my blood run cold. This was my fault. If Jaime had just gotten punched himself and no one else had gotten hurt admistration would have over looked it. But because I had taken the punch for him, it was more than just two people involved in a fight. Jaime couldn't play and it was all my fault.
Silence hung over the room for a moment before chaos broke out.
"This is your fault, couldn't you just stay out of Jaime's business?" Theon hissed from where he sat on the bed. I tensed slightly.
"Well if you hadn't fucked up in the game none of this would have happened!" I growled back. Renly touched my shoulder from beside me, I shrugged him off, "If you had just stayed in your spot like I've been telling you all season then it would have been fine! The goal wouldn't have gone in and we would be going to championships!" Robb was muttering for us to stop but I was about to crack. Renly grabbed my shoulder again and I pushed him off forcefully, standing up. Theon followed in my footsteps, standing so we could look at each other.
"I was trying to help you! You had no chance of catching that striker!" Theon snapped, crossing his arms, "I think you're slowing down Tyrell! Pretty soon you're going to be as slow as Renly over there!" He motioned to Renly. This was going too far, everyone was yelling at the two of us.
"Leave him out of this," I retorted, balling my hands into fists. I was ready to punch him and Theon looked like he was ready to do the same to me. Jorah grabbed my shoulder forcefully, pushing me away from Theon. I hadn't realized we had stepped closer as we had argued. Robb was on me before anyone else, pushing me out of the room. Renly and Jorah followed. Once the door closer Robb turned on me.
"Arguing isn't going to fix this," He spat.
"You blamed all of this on me in front of the whole team!" I accused angrily. "It's not my fault that I was protecting one of my teammates!" Robb sighed, looking exasperated.
"It isn't Theon's fault either," Robb said, his voice calming down. I rubbed my forehead, the ache of a headache burning under my skin. I leaned back against the wall as we fell silent for a moment, giving me time to calm myself. "Jaime got suspended for a week, if we can win the semi-final game, then he will be able to play for championship," Robb said.
"Well where are we going to get a goalie good enough to play a varsity game in four days?" Jorah piped up. I had forgetten Jorah and Renly had followed us and I was almost embaressed to have gotten so mad in front of Renly. But when I looked at him, he looked more concerned than angry. "Goalies aren't exactly in large supply around here." Robb shrugged.
"I have no idea," Robb sighed. We fell back into silence once more, I stared at my shoes. Robb watched the wall beside my head. We were doomed, there was no solution to this. No one could be good enough to replace Jaime.
"I'll do it," Renly said suddenly, looking at me. I stared back, Robb frowned.
"Do what?"
"I'll play goal." Renly stated, I snorted. Renly had played goal in grade school and the beginning of middle school before he switched to striker. That was before I had even met him, so I had never seen him play.
"You haven't played goalie in years," Robb said. Renly shrugged.
"I can relearn,"
"In four days?" Robb scoffed. I crossed my arm, looking at Renly. He was running his fingers through his hair and looking between me and Robb.
"Do you have a better idea?" I asked, piping up in Renly's defense. We didn't have any other choice and Renly had more experience playing goal than anyone else on the team. "We can change the formation. Play Stannis, Theon and I all at once as defense which would make the chances of the ball getting even close to Renly very slim. Drop a middy so we only have one and then you, Jon and Jorah as the forwards," Robb stayed silent, thinking about my suggestion. I could practically see the wheels turning in his head. "We don't have any other option." I added after a moment of silence, "It's our only option if we want to win." Robb chewed at the inside of his cheek.
"Okay. Let's do it. But I except Renly in that goal practicing every time he has a moment off."
And that was how I found myself the next day, two hours before prom was suppost to start, on the field with Renly, Robb and Jon. Renly was panting, bent in half and gripping his knees. Robb was standing with his arms crossed, a soccer ball under his foot. We had been shooting continuously on him and he was starting to have trouble. Robb had a fucking good shot, and at first when he had taken it easy on Renly he was blocking them. But now that Robb was going all out, Renly had no chance. Robb would shoot for the upper left corner and Renly hands wouldn't even come close.
"This is hopeless," Jon sighed once Renly had finally gained his breath back. "We need someone who can teach you who actually knows how to play goal. We can't teach you just using YouTube videos," Jon turned his gaze to where I sat in the grass a little bit away. "Where's Jaime when you need him?" I looked at my phone again. I had texted him several times, but he hadn't answered. I didn't think Jaime was one to stand up his prom date, but he still hadn't shown up at school and prom was only a few hours away. I also didn't think he was one to stand up his team mates when we needed him, but I might have been wrong about that too.
Robb sighed, picking up the ball underneath his foot and tucking it under his arm. "We'll pick this up tomorrow at practice," He stated. Renly wiped the sweat from his brow and gathered a few of the other soccer balls that had ended up in the net. I stood and went to help them return the balls to the mesh bag we kept them in.
"I'll see you guys at prom," I said, trying to keep the disappointment out of my voice. Renly was my best friend, but he wasn't much of a goalie. Renly walked with me back to my dorm room, looking as sad as I felt. When we got there, Margaery and Sansa where already there, their dresses hung on the hooks by the door. Renly put on a happy face from them and Margaery pulled him into a hug exclaiming about how excited she was. I turned away so I didn't have to look as his hands touched her hips. Margaery pulled away and returned to the spot because Sansa's head so she could continue to the work she was doing on her hair.
An hour later, I have showered, shaved and founding a matching pair of black socks with Margery's help. She seemed to always know where my missing socks were. I was struggling to button up my shirt as Renly stood next to me looking into the mirror. He was acting like he had gotten over his failure of being a goalie, but I could tell that it was just an act. Once I finished with my shirt Renly smiled at me in the mirror.
"I'm telling you your broken nose really brings out your eyes," He winked and I forced myself not to blush. I tied my tie around my neck and made sure it was straight.
"Well nothing on you really brings our your eyes," I replied, lying through my teeth. Renly's eyes, a deep green, brought themselves out. There was no need for colors or a broken nose. Renly laughed at me, pulling on his coat and I followed in his footsteps. I looked in the mirror one more time to make sure I was content with how I looked. Renly didn't bother looking in mirror; he must have already thought he looked good enough. His hand hovered on the doorknob and I stood behind him, waiting. He paused, turning to look at me. I took a step back, realizing how close we were.
"Hey, I'm serious here, you really look good," He pulled at the lapels of my jacket, straitening them. My breath caught in my throat before I slowly managed to find a smile.
"Thanks,"
"I don't want your senior prom ruined because of some silly broken nose," Renly grinned at me. I nodded, unable to find words. He told me I looked good. I felt that tickling sensation in my stomach; he told me I looked really good. I snapped myself out of it quickly, scolding myself as Renly turned back to open the door and step out.
Thou shalt not get excited with thou's best friend says thou looks good.
Margaery was on me the second I was out the door, holding my face between her hands and pinching my cheeks in mocking. I struggled to push her away without hurting her hair or dress.
"Aw, look at my big brother, I wasn't sure you could wear anything that wasn't a tee-shirt or a school uniform," She grinned from ear to ear at me and I flushed a little. Once she had given up her grip on my cheeks and I could finally look at her did I realize just how nice she looked. I already knew the dress was baby blue, but it worked well with her hair. She had braided the top layer of her hair into a kind of crown that met in the back and connected into one single braid. The bottom layer of her hair was lose underneath the braid.
Sansa looked just as well in return. A braid started on one side of her hair and wrapped around to lie over her bare shoulder on the other side. I hadn't noticed how her shoulders, while they were wide, were so swan like. Sansa looked strong, but beautiful at the same time, and I thought for a moment that if I was straight we would work well together. But I'm not straight and Sansa and I are just friends. Still, I pulled her into a hug and whispered that she looked great.
Renly yelled at us to pose. We did and I wrapped my arm around her shoulder, a completely genuine smile on my face. I was happy we were going together. After a picture of Margaery and Renly and Sansa and Margaery, Renly wrapped an arm around my shoulders for one of us two. He smelt like the cologne he only used for special occasions. Not the normal earthy smell he had. But he still smelt like all I've ever wanted. But I still smiled wide for the camera and laughed at another one of Renly's joke about my nose.
Renly grinned at me and I took the moment to look him over once before Margaery took him by his arm. The white jacket fitted him nicely and it really worked with his black hair. The blue brings out his eyes and I feel a little dizzy. Maybe it was from the concussion, or maybe that was what falling in love felt like. I shook the thought out of my head, I would never be able to make it through the night thinking like that. Once we were all sorted and ready to go we piled into Renly's car. Prom was being held off campus, in a hotel's conference room about ten miles away from the school, and all four of us had decided to drive together. I pushed Renly out of the way to the driver's seat earning a yelp of disapproval from Renly.
"Please, I can drive better with a slight concussion then you can on normal. I want to keep my sister safe." I muttered, whisking the keys out of his hand and sitting in the driver's seat, slamming the door behind me so he wouldn't be able to argue anymore. He muttered something I couldn't hear but accepted. I had to move the driver's seat back a bit because my legs were awkwardly longer than Renly's even if he was taller. Margaery leaned up from the back seat, her phone in her hand with the gps brought up on it, and directed me to the restaurant she claimed was the best one in town.
Finally we arrive at the restaurant after a few mis-turns on my part. Mostly because Margaery and Renly were flirting up a storm and she wasn't always paying attention to when I had to turn. I was starving and helped myself happily to the bread the waiter had brought us. Sansa joined me and we jokingly tapped out bread together as if making a toast.
"Get it, we are toasting, with bread," I said, popping a piece of my bread into my mouth. Sansa giggled and covered her mouth. I laughed at my own joke but froze when I caught Renly watching us flirt. He frowned at me and looked like he was ready to kick me in the skin underneath the table. I looked at my lap and for a moment to entertain the thought that Renly was jealous till I remember that prom was entirely my idea. If it weren't for me we would be at the peak, just the two of us. But Renly was here because of me and my awkward best-friend crush I had on him.
It was time to accept that I did have a crush on him. It was time to accept that I was in love with him. I shook my head, maybe the accepting would settle in another day.
Three hours later, the music pounded loudly in my ears and vibrated through the floor. I had lost Sansa to go talk to Gendry and Jorah for a moment and when I turned back around she wasn't where I thought she was. I looked up to see Renly and Margaery, his hands on her stomach as she leaned back against is chest, her backside grinding perfectly against his hips. I ripped my gaze away, willing the disappointment in the pit of my stomach to leave. But it still hurt a little bit, all of the parties I've ever been to with Renly, I had never seen him pay this much attention to a girl.
Thou shalt not be jealous of thou's sister.
Margaery yelled to me over the music and left Renly for a moment to grab my hands and pull me to both of them. She wrapped her arms around my neck and we danced for a few seconds like we did when we were little kids. Full of fake hair flipping and spins. Renly interrupted us to pull Margaery back to him and grinned lopsidedly at me. I forced myself to smile back as the song ended and another one began.
"God, I need a drink!" Margaery exclaimed, flashing me a perfect smile before whisking Renly away with her towards the water. I spun around, looking lost for a moment as I tried to regain my composer. Sansa found me, pulling me closer to her and into another dance. We laughed and joked as we danced and I spun her around. She giggled the whole time, her fingers brushing the nape of my neck. I caught Robb give me a I'm-watching-you hand motion over Sansa's shoulder and burst out laughing, my disappointment over Renly and Margaery leaving me for the time being. Robb must have taken my laughing for a challenge and approached us with his own smile plastered across his face.
I was still laughing as he wiggled between us, pushing my hands off of Sansa's hips and onto his own shoulders. He pretended to hit me on my broken nose and slap me a few times before he spun me around back to Sansa. And she's laughing so hard that she barely had time to catch me when I tumble towards her. I wrapped my arms back around her waist and pretend to kiss her cheek as Robb made one more I'm-watching-you motion before disappearing into the crowd.
"I just got mauled by an aggressive older brother, let's go tend to my wounds," I joked, pulling her with me towards a quiet corner where we collapse onto the ground. I'm panting a bit and she's looks just as tired. "I think dancing is more work than soccer," I laughed, pushing my hair out of my face. Sansa nods in agreement.
"But it's a lot more fun," She said, pulling her dress down over her knees and touching her hair to make sure the braid was still intact. I reached over the tuck a stray strand of hair back into the braid. A few passing girls wink at me and tried to invite me to dance but I smiled politely and refused. Sansa looked at me, "You know how many girls have a crush on you? The star defender, tall blonde, funny, stunning leg muscles." She pushed my shoulder. I shrugged and smiled in return.
"I guess I'm the ultimate heartbreaker then," I said, watching the crowd of dancers. Behind a few people I could make out Renly and Margaery. The song had slowed down to something much more romantic and they were holding each other. They looked completely in love.
"Why?"
"Because I'm, y'know." I turned my attention back to Sansa. She sighed.
"You should really just start saying your gay instead of just y'know," Sansa said, reaching over to hold my hand in hers. "And I think the only heart you're really breaking is yours," She touched my chest, where my heart was. I thought she is referring to Renly and I and I immediately thought of Margaery and Renly dancing together. Sansa stoked the back of my hand with her thumb. "Sometimes the only way to not break your own heart is to come out to someone," I looked at the floor, this was way too personal of a conversation to be having in a public place. But Sansa seemed to like those conversations the most.
"I don't like Renly," I said sternly, looking into her eyes and hoping that I looked convincing. She cocked an eyebrow at me.
"Sure you don't." Sansa said, sounding a little frustrated. I must have not looked convincing enough.
"Besides, he's straight."
"How do you know that?" Sansa asked. I take my hand back from her, getting a little mad myself. Why was she so convinced that I needed to come out to Renly? We were perfectly fine the way we were, me pretending to not be in love with him, and him just going about his business. "He could be," She said, "You should really come out to him."
"Maybe," I muttered, playing along with her. Deep down I was starting to think it was time to let him know. We had been best friends for three years now, even since he was a freshman and I was a sophomore. We met when the JV and varsity soccer teams scrimmaged for practice. I made varsity as a sophomore, even if I wasn't getting much playing time. Robb and I had been the only two sophomores to make it, even if it was rare to even have one on varsity. Renly had been a striker for the JV team and in the scrimmage I had tackle blocked him so hard that he fell down and sprained his wrist. We met when coach forced me to take him to the nurse myself because it was my fault he even had to go there in the first place. We hit it off pretty quick, and ever since then we had been best friends.
I stood up, desperate to get out of this conversation with Sansa. I helped her up and pulled her out back to the dance floor to sway to a slow song. I folded her in my arms and she rested her head on my chest. I tried not to watch Renly and Margaery but I couldn't help myself. They looked so good together. Once the song ended the two of them found their way to us.
"Theon is throwing an after party at some relatives of his' house nearby, want to go?" Margaery asked me, but from the look in her eyes I knew no matter what I said the answer would be yes in her mind. Robb seeming appeared out of nowhere when I nodded. He wrapped an arm around Sansa.
"Uh-uh, no way you're going there," Robb said sternly to her. She looked shocked, pushing him away.
"You're not mom, Robb, I can go to whatever party I want to!" Sansa exclaimed. Robb raised an eyebrow.
"There's going to be drinking, can't have some puny sophomore girl there," Robb shrugged and she looked heartbroken for a moment.
"Robb, we're her ride home, she has to go with us," I said, trying to stick up for Sansa.
"Yeah, we're a group, Sansa stays with us," Margaery piped up. Robb shook his head, standing his ground.
"Jorah's heading back she can ride with him." I opened my mouth to argue more with Robb but shut it quickly, seeing there was no way he was budging on this. Sansa looked upset and I hugged her goodbye as Robb led her off to Jorah and a boring night back at King's Academy. Margaery shrugged, muttering about how we tried before we left prom once it had started to wind down. I took the keys from Renly again and we all got into the car once more. I didn't have to adjust the seat this time. Margaery had typed the address of the house into her phone and once more we were off with Margaery being our personal gps.
When we got there, a lot of people had already beaten us there, and the party was looking a lot larger then I had first thought it would be. I turned down the beer someone offered me once we walked inside and Renly thumped me on the back for being the responsible driver and took the beer for himself. I found a soda for myself a little while later. Theon finds us pretty quickly afterwards. I hadn't formally apologized to him so he eyed me cautiously and looked to Renly and Margaery instead. He looked Margaery up and down and I bristled slightly. Even if she was a man stealing sister, she was still my sister.
"Can I get you something?" He asked her. She smiled back and nodded, batting her eyelashes a bit. Renly didn't seem to notice the obvious flirting and chose instead to lead Margaery, once she had gotten her own drink, out towards the living room which had been deemed the dance floor, even if the music rebounded throughout the whole house. I was now dateless so I chose to instead roam the house, idling in chit chat here and there. I had to ref a drunken soccer game in the backyard for a little bit because Robb, who had finally shown up even if he had banned his sister, and Jon had bet a bunch of the JV guys that they could beat four of them without any trouble even when drunk.
Robb's aim was still pretty fucking great even when he was drunk. Jon's kick was lacking a little bit and at one point he had ran straight into Robb in a mad dash for the ball. I laughed pretty hard when the two of them fell to the ground due to the impact. And due to their miscommunication the JV guys scored a goal and both of them had to drink a whole beer in punishment.
Afterwards I help both of them back into the house and give them water and food and made sure they didn't get into any trouble. I got a new soda and ate the box of lucky charms we had found in the kitchen. It was fun to watch them attempt to communicate to each other when totally trashed.
After a few hours I went to find Renly and Margaery because they hadn't shown back up for a while and I wanted to get going. It was almost three in the morning now and we had school tomorrow. I was feeling like it was time to sleep and didn't want to ruin my designated driver title by falling asleep at the wheel. I couldn't find them in the living room where I had left them and had searched almost the entire bottom floor before someone tipped me off that they had seen them going on the screen porch. I pushed open the door and froze at what I saw.
Renly had his lips pressed firmly to Margaery's and his hands where cupping her ass firmly, kneading each time their lips moved together. Margaery had her hands firmly buried in Renly's hair and he had lost his jacket at some time because it was thrown over a chair. I stood silent and still, feeling like a deer in head lights. I wanted to run, take Renly's car and just drive home. Once I heard a moan come from Margaery's lips I did turn and run, letting the door shut behind me. I don't know if it slammed and interrupted them because my vision had blurred when I shut the door. The tunnel vision increased and I shoved my way through the remaining party goers. Someone, I think it was Gendry, had grabbed my shoulder when I had almost reached the door but I didn't hear what he had to say. I ripped open the front door and the jealous in my stomach exploded.
How dare he? How dare she? I had been nothing but perfect for the both of them. I had done nothing to deserve having my only hope of Renly and I together ripped out from underneath my nose. By Margaery of all people! The anger festered inside my stomach as I jogged down the steps and to the car. But I scolded myself, how could I have been so stupid to even entertain the idea of Renly and I?
My anger transformed into tears and I desperately tried to wipe them away and stop myself. I didn't cry, I couldn't cry. Especially over Renly. But I felt the sobs before they made their way to the surface. I collapsed against the hood of his car, letting myself sit on it. I covered my eyes with my jacket, gasping into it and sobbed. I felt so stupid that I tried to stop the tears, sniffling and rubbing at my eyes. This was ridiculous. I was crying over my sister and my best friend falling head over heels in love with each other. I was the ultimate gay cliché. I finally got my sobs to stop and settled for the night air brushing against my wet cheeks. I don't know how long it was before I heard the footsteps approach.
I glanced over my shoulder to see Renly and Margaery approaching me. Her hair was messed up and he has his jacket slung over his forearm. I quickly turned away from them, scrubbing at my eyes and hoping they couldn't make out the tear stains in the dark.
"I was thinking of leaving," I said, hoping my voice didn't give away that I had been crying. They couldn't know. I turned back around looking at them. Margaery had a look of concern on her face, as if she could tell I was upset, some kind of sibling sixth sense.
"Past your bed time?" Renly asked, I knew he was joking but I felt the anger boil in my stomach.
"It's three in the morning!" I snapped at him. Renly held up his hands in defense, hearing my tone.
"Okay whatever," He muttered, sliding into the back seat. Margaery took shotgun and I started the car up once I was in the driver's seat. For a moment the lights were on in the car before I shut my door and they dimmed to nothing. Margaery studied my face before the light disappeared and I know she saw how puffy my eyes were. I backed up out of our spot, not looking Renly in the eye when I turned around to look out the back. Once we are on the road Margaery reached over to touch my shoulder.
"What's wrong?" She asked quietly, but I knew Renly can still hear us. I shrugged her off, staring at the road and feeling the tears pooling in the bottom of my eyelids.
"Nothing," My voice cracked. I cleared my throat, trying to play it off, "I'm fine." I muttered. I can't cry here. We ride in silence all the way back to the school and Margaery goes her separate way back to the girl's dorm once we arrive. Renly and I walk in silence, my hands stuffed into my pockets. If I just don't talk to him I know I can make it back to my dorm room and I can go back to crying all by myself. He doesn't say anything, but I can tell he was a little angry because I had snapped at him before. Once the path split he stopped and I thought about just walking off down the other way and not talking to him, but I found my feet stopping on their own accord.
Renly looked at me and crossed his arms.
"What got under your skin?" He asked bluntly. I bristled a little. There was no way to make an excuse for myself without outright telling him I was gay and in love with him. I shrugged, rubbing my shoulder.
"I'm just tired, that's all," I said, looking him in the eye. I wasn't sure if he could make out the tear stains on my cheeks or the puffiness of my eyes, but if he did he didn't say anything.
"We could have left earlier if you had just said something-"
"Just… forget it, okay?" I muttered, trying to sound calm, "It's nothing," We fell into silence again. I knew Renly wasn't good with emotional people, and I rarely even showed him this side of me, so I knew he must have been uncomfortable. Renly rubbed the back of his neck.
"I've been thinking," Renly started.
"Well, that's dangerous," I muttered, even if I was annoyed at him I was unable to stop myself. The corner of Renly's mouth turned up slightly in a little smile and he hit my shoe with his. That was enough of a peace treaty between the two of us. Funny how a smile could do so much diplomacy work.
"I was thinking that maybe we could head up to the peak next Friday and stay for the weekend because we couldn't go this weekend," Renly said, rolling his shoulders forward. "Friday is a half day anyways, so we could just skip and head up earlier. Besides, I might need some TLC after the game on Thursday." He smiled at me and I returned it gently.
"Yeah, that sounds great." I managed to say. He nodded before stepping towards me. Quietly he pulled me into a hug and I accepted it. My heart raced for the few seconds our chests touched before he pulled away and gripped my shoulders.
"See you tomorrow,"
"Yeah," I pulled away from him quickly. I didn't want to fuel this crush I had on him if Margaery and him where really going to be serious. I need to stop liking him at all costs. I waved farewell before briskly jogging off to my dorm. As I ran up the stairs I felt the sobs threatening to come back. I had never realized that Renly was all I ever wanted intel someone stole him right from underneath my nose. And not just anyone, my own sister. I shoved open the door to my dorm room and slammed it shut, sliding down onto the floor and not fighting the tears that fell from my eyes. The sobs followed, pulling the air from my lungs. I buried my face in my hands and let it all out.
"Loras?" The voice sounded tired and I gasped, looking around the dark room. I spotted the form of Jaime Lannister slowly sit up in his bed, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Quickly I tried to wipe the tears away, Jaime was the last person I wanted to see me crying. Or well, second to last. Renly was definitally last. I thought I was doing a pretty good job of stopping the tears, even if I knew he had heard me before. But the gasps for breath where a dead give away. Even in the pitch black room Jaime picked up what was going on. "Loras, are you crying?" He asked. I didn't answer, wiping my nose on my sleeve as Jaime swung himself out of his bed, turning the lamp on that sat on his night stand.
Once the light was on and he could clearly see my pitifully form on the ground he sighed and stood up, walking over to me and pulling me to my feet.
"I'm sorry I didn't think you would be back," I forced out. Jaime gripped my shoulders. He was a little taller than me and his calloused thumbs rubbed small circle into my skin.
"Crying because I was gone, so sweet," He joked. I laughed a little bit between the dry gasp for breaths. Those where the reason I never cried, I hated those dry gasps for breath your lungs forced you to take once the tears were gone. And I guess because I hadn't cried for at least three years now, I had a lot of tears. "I mean I knew I was special but not that special," Jaime said as he led me to my bed, sitting me down and sitting next to me. I sighed, still gasping a little.
"I'm sorry for yelling at you yesterday, I didn't know you had gotten banned from playing because of me." I rubbed my eyes while I talked. Jaime shrugged, leaning back on my bed a bit.
"It's okay," He said. I thought he was going to tell me he was sorry too but he didn't and we fell back into silence. Jaime rubbed my back while I fought to keep the dry gasps at bay. Once they had faded away to nothing he yawned and said he was tired and got up to get back into his bed. I nodded and went about getting myself ready for my own bed. Jaime drifted back to sleep and I was thankful that he didn't ask me what was wrong.
Jaime and I had that kind of an understanding. We didn't ask questions. I knew then that I had broken that rule this morning when I pressed him to tell me why Gregor had tried to punch him.
I crawled into my bed, shutting the light off, and pulling the covers up to my chin. I forced myself to close my eyes and for a while when I did all I saw was Renly's hands on Margaery before my body finally gave way to sleep.