Chapter fifteen: Jon
12:45 PM
Jon had just showered, his hair dripped water down his back and his reflection stared at him. The razor sat lazily in his fingers once again, finally being lifted to shave his face, careful not to cut. Some scissors were found in a drawer under a bunch of crap, and he took it to his hair, littering the sink with some of his curls. It'd been a while since he'd clean-up for anybody.
He exited the bathroom, and both the other boys had commended him for his work, they knew how much he loved his hair. He slipped on a pair of boxers and a Beatles band-shirt, returning to the bathroom for his pajama bottoms and a final glance over. He didn't even look like himself, and he thought that was a good thing.
"Jon, we're gonna pull an all-nighter, you in?" Robb offered, plugging his game console into the wall. Jon's nose wrinkled at the idea.
"Fuck you guys, you told Cat those condoms were mine."
"It was funny though, right?" Robb chuckled over his t-shirt covered shoulder, forcing his brother to shake his head- grimacing at the lightness, and Theon started to laugh because it was his shitty idea in the first place.
"No, my girlfriend had to take the blame."
"Is that what you are? Already?" Robb returned with a little agitation, crawling to his usual spot on the floor, voice flourishing with sarcasm.
"Yeah, and it's serious."
"Really." He said it less like a question and more like a sound of disbelief, "that's what you said about Ygritte."
Jon didn't like the mentioning of Ygritte, especially now she was mothering a bastard's bastard. Poor girl didn't deserve that; poor child didn't deserve that.
"What's your deal?"
"My deal was that I had dibs first, and you swoop in and take my catch. That's not cool." He pointed an index at the other boy, "it's in the Men's rulebook."
"Well, first off, don't talk about girls like that- they're not just notches in your bedpost," Jon warned, "secondly, do you know how times you've done the exact same thing to me?"
"What- no I didn't."
"Yeah, you would. I'd get a crush on some girl at school, and the next week you're fucking her over on your bed and I have to listen to it- can't make eye contact with her for 4 whole years because you called dibs before I could? That fucking sucked. I think I get some slack."
Robb didn't say anything, just went back to his game with a grumbled sigh. Theon sat awkwardly with the controller in his palms, turning to agree with Jon in a quiet voice, "yeah-yeah, he did that to that one flute-player I was seeing."
"You weren't seeing her," Robb groaned back to the other boy, "You saw her bra-strap once and decided you were in love with her."
"I really liked her,"Theon said more to himself than anyone else, letting the controller slip to his bed as he rolled over to face the wall. Robb scoffed, probably because he thought it was overdramatic.
"She was lousy. I spared you."
"Robb. You should say you're sorry," Jon interjected from his dresser, shutting a drawer with a slam.
"What? I didn't know you liked those girls."
"Not me, I don't give a shit anymore," he lied, using his head to motion to the distant boy, curled into the wall.
"Theon. I'm sorry I took your lousy-flute-player." Theon rolled over and silently picked up the second controller, joining Robb on the floor with a solemn look. "See? Theon forgives me, you should too."
"Stop being a dick."
"Geez Jon, it's just sex. Get over it." Robb smirked, taking the wire into his mouth and chewing on it.
"Not for him, it wasn't." Jon looked over to the other boy, who was now looking back and forth between the two. Theon shook his head and lied.
"No, Robb's right. 's just sex, I didn't care about her, really."
"Whatever," Jon grumbled, sliding into his sheets, and pulling the blanket to his chin, "try to keep it down- I swear to god."
He could hear the rain bouncing off the top of the house, and his mind immediately went to thinking about the damage. So many things would be broken, skewed across the grass- probably some broken fences and unearthed pastures. Some redheaded woman crying herself to sleep because she had a baby inside her and was only just a baby herself; Jon had a lot of things to look forward to fixing.
Just as he was falling asleep, bundled up tightly in a warm mass, the covers were pulled off him and he was revealed to the frigid air. Cat stood over him with panic playing on her features.
"Jon, your father needs you in the barn."
"Mh-What-wait, why is he out there?" Jon croaked in a slow, sleep-broken voice.
"He was checking on the horses and the mare went into labor."
"You serious?" He groaned, rubbing his eyes and rolling from his bed, "of all the times to birth a freaking baby- why can't Robb do it?"
"Because you've done it a million times," Robb said from his vantage point on the ground, eyes transfixed on the television, "I don't know the first thing about babies. C'mon dude, you're a pro."
"Okay," Jon silently hissed, strutting over them to get to the door. He was so warm and fresh and clean- and not looking forward to the dark rainy mess that sat outside. He put one arm after the other into a random windbreaker he found at the door, tucking the bottoms of his pajama pants into a pair of yellow galoshes.
Oh god it was cold outside.
2:16 AM
"Thanks for the help Jon." Ned said from beneath his hood, rinsing the fluids from his coat with the outside spigot, his son standing with an absentminded numbness, staring at the mud on the ground. This was usually the time he would get ready for a run. Wow, he's got lazy.
" 's so weird, a storm-born colt."
"It's probably the stress of it all," Ned said with a cough, flinging the water into the cold night air, "come on, let's go to bed." They silently trekked towards the house, Ned turned and elbowed him. "Your girlfriend want a horse?"
"She'd probably say yes, but I don't think that's a good idea." Jon chuckled with a sore throat, desperately rubbing at it for relief. His leg hurt from where the mare struck him, and his body felt like it was melting from sleep deprivation.
"Why not? She could keep it here- she told me herself her birthday was next month."
"You're- you're serious? What about that buyer- Mr. Lannister?"
"He wanted a filly for his racehorse sires, a colt's no good to him," Ned laughed, rubbing his forehead and thinking about the lost financial opportunity.
"Oh." He stomped off the mud at the porch, blinking away raindrops, "I'll let you tell her then."
"Only if it survives the night," Ned promised, opening the door and letting his son in first. "Go on up to bed. I've got to go over to the Lannister Ranch, fuse blown and they need a replacement."
Jon peered out into the dim light finding his father's familiar face, "now- with the storm? What if you get shocked-"
"They're in the dark, Jon."
"So? Fuck 'em, they killed Lady- probably even killed Nymeria."
" 's wrong with you," Ned growled, voice stern with disbelief, "I didn't raise you to be an incompetent child- I raised you to be a man. And men help others, even if they did wrong."
"You're right," he said, feeling ashamed and angry simultaneously, "I'm sorry… did you want help?"
"It's just a fuse, nothing I can't handle- done it a million times," Ned wiped his mouth on his wet sleeve, hugging his son, "Night, Jon. Love you."
"G'night..."Jon grumbled into the hug, "…love you too."
Jon returned to his room and found his brothers fast asleep in their beds, both snoring considerably- neither could make the night, apparently. The only light was from the porch, shining in from the windows above his bed- and his cellphone, alerting him of several texts.
Ygritte [text]:hey, I know it's late but you should stop by tomorrow
Ygritte [text]: unless you can't because the roads, then call me k?
Jon dragged his cold, numb fingers across the screen to reply.
Jon [text]: I'll do what I can
Ygritte [text]: thanx
Jon [text]: how are you?
But no response came. She was probably fast asleep now- or lying her bed awake, because there was nothing else to do but feel sorry for yourself and watch the storm. Sleep sounded amazing.
Jon slid out of his muddy clothes, too tired to care as they fell to the floor, freeing him so that he may climb into his sheets. They were extremely cold against his bare skin, and he found himself shuffling inside of them to recreate the heat, all the while shivering and sniffling. He rolled to face the wall; he didn't even hear the door creak open and close.
"Jon?" A voice whispered from the dark. He sat up clutching his blankets, recognizing Dany's voice. She probably heard them come in from outside and waited till she could follow him up the stairs.
"Wha- why aren't you asleep? Scared the hell out of me..."
"I can't sleep in a strange house…" She sounded pretty terrified, which perplexed him. "Can I sleep in here with you… please?"
"Cat said 'no nonsense'."
"It's not nonsense- your house is big and scares me- I tried to imagine I was somewhere else, but I'd -" Theon grunted and rolled over, causing her voice to grow quieter, "-hear sounds and think about things under the bed or in the hallway…and Sansa sleeps with her door open and I see people looking in- I'm scared, just- please?"
Jon squinted about the room, finally lifting his sheets to her, "I'm going to get in a shit-ton of trouble…"
"You're always in trouble."
Dany slithered in over him, kneeing him all over and apologizing as she curled between him and the wall. Jon sighed, climbing back under the sheets until he was chin-deep, trying to avoid contact with the girl.
"Your feet are cold," he complained into her direction.
"Are you naked?"
"No, I've got shorts on- quit squirming." She elbowed him in the stomach, and her leg kicked the sore spot from the mare.
"Be the big spoon?" She whimpered toward him, and he obeyed without questioning, because he was a cuddler and desperately missed it. He tried closing his eyes, but she seemed restless at the creaking of the house, scratching whatever itched and moving her limbs in desperation for comfort.
"Wanna listen to music?" She started to jam an ear-bud into his face before receiving a response, searching for his ear, "Wha- did you shave? Where's the itchy stuff?"
"Oh my goddd- go to sleep." Jon grumbled taking her ear-piece and putting it in himself. Some soft music played in one ear as Dany whispered something he couldn't hear into the other, feeling her hand slither down between them.
"Wha-" he shifted away from her body, "what are you doing? You said no nonsense-"
"I was thinking we could try again."
Robb rolled over on his side of the room, clearing his throat as he did and Jon tensed, waiting for the sure sign of heavy breathing.
"Let's not, okay? No nonsense."
"At least let me-" Her voice was washed over with the music.
"What?"
"Can I touch you?" His body stiffened considerably, and he fought off her hands without strength because he honestly didn't mind the actual idea, he just didn't want to get chewed out by Cat; but one cold one snaked its way down onto the crotch of his boxers, sending tremors through him upon contact and his hands went slack.
"Come on, I don't want to do this with my brothers in the room." He lied.
"I just want to be spontaneous…"
"Be spontaneous when there aren't two sleeping boys several feet away, okay?"
She twisted to face him, and her hand defiantly rubbed circles into the soft fabric.
"I just want you to be as happy as I am." Her voice cracked, and Jon realized she was still worrying about earlier. He gave away with out any difficulty.
"Fine."
She pressed her lips to the corner of his mouth, searching desperately through the dark for the closeness she desired, her hand relentless. She wanted her way, and he was too submissive and sleep drunken to say no. Jon's mind trying wandering to many things, like how he didn't have a towel nearby, and how the tempo of this song only made things hotter, and how he should fuck her for Robb to hear, and how he kind of loved her a lot.
Dany placed the other ear-bud into his vacant ear, and went about suckling on his neck. Jon listened to the lyrics intently, forgetting about where he was or what was happening long enough to bite back any noise he would make. Her hand was down his waistband and was hard at work, and now he was absentmindedly rocking his hips along with it, head lolled back onto his pillow. He'd done it a thousand times, but this felt different- maybe it was because of the music, or because a girl was doing it. But it felt too good to be real. When it was all over, Jon was left with ragged breath and a numb, tired body, and she adorned herself on him, kissing his cheek and playing with his hair. She pulled the ear-buds from him, kissing before whispering into it.
"Did you… was it good?"
"Yeah- thanks." Was all he could muster; part of him was embarrassed, the other part of him was even tired than before. And happy.
"You were pretty loud." She giggled quietly into his neck.
"I was?" He couldn't hear anything besides the music, and now he was looking through the dark at his brothers' beds.
"The rain might have covered it up," she assured him, "it's loud up here."
"If not, that's okay, they deserve it."
His arm pulled her up against his body, too tired to care about the mess. She didn't complain, wrapping her arms around his chest and letting her head fall onto his shoulder, putting in the abandoned ear-piece. For a while both of them stared towards the ceiling, letting the sound of rain and mumbling songs lull them into sleep.
"Jon." A voice called to him, but it wasn't Dany's. Cat leered over the couple, and he was certain she was going to yell at him. He waited for her to shout, but her face was stiff and she remained silent. Instead the older woman crumbled against the mattress, head down. Robb was the first one to embrace her, and Jon got dressed.