Every year the Starks put on a company barbecue. In their somewhat humble law firm, they had three other attorney's besides Ned working for them. So, to say thank you, Ned liked to have a company outing in which the people that worked for him in the firm could invite their family and friends for a day out.
Every year it was somewhere different. This year, because they'd begun planning late, they decided to hold it at the park. The park boasted three playgrounds for the kids, a trail around a decent sized pond that people could swim in, and a trail around the pond. They rented out the entire place for the day, throwing a good chunk of change at it to have the snack bar open and running so they could serve their people food.
What this meant for the Stark children was having to be extra friendly and personable to the people in attendance, and making sure everything ran smoothly. They were all up at what Bran called "the ass crack of dawn" to prepare.
Sansa ended up in the car with her siblings, bleary-eyed and in desperate need of more coffee. She sat in the back and let Arya have the front with Robb. She had actually fallen asleep by the time they arrived at the park. She climbed out of Robb's car with a yawn and stretched before following the brood to the picnic area to help set up.
Robb somehow became her partner.
"Are you ever going to talk to me again?" he asked as they set to work arranging picnic tables.
She looked at him. "I've been talking to you."
"Yeah, you give me one word answers. You won't even look at me, Sansa."
It was easier not to look at him. When she looked at him she was reminded of dreams and feelings and thoughts she shouldn't be having. She looked at him now though and wished she hadn't. He looked so forlorn and she felt bad. He hadn't done anything, not really.
Also, he was handsome. He was handsome and every time she looked at him she couldn't stop herself from thinking it. Her dreams were seeping into her waking life and making her think and feel things she shouldn't be thinking and feeling.
"I'm sorry I was such a di—an ass to you when you came home from your date with Jon," he said. "I don't know what got into me. I've just been a little stressed lately with work and schoolwork…I think I was angling for a fight."
It hadn't really seemed like a fight she thought he'd been angling for, but perhaps that was just her own take on the situation based on her wildly inappropriate dreams. Christ. How depraved had she become?
It was on the tip of her tongue to ask him if maybe Margaery should blow him again to take the edge off.
"It's fine, Robb," she said.
"Is it really?"
"Yep. I got my kiss from Jon that I wanted. And then some. So yeah, everything is awesome."
Had she really just said that out loud? Robb's jaw clenched. "Great," he said tightly. "I think Dad needs me." He walked away from her.
"I'm losing my ever loving mind," she muttered.
That Margaery and Robb had fooled around should bother her to the point that she wanted to point
out to Robb that she had since gotten the kiss she'd wanted spoke of insanity to Sansa. It shouldn't matter to her that he and Margaery had fooled around and yet it did. It bothered her so much that she wanted to lash out at him. Wanted to hurt him.
Yet the only way to hurt him was if he felt the same. And why would he? He was aware that she was his sister. She'd even made up an entire exchange in her mind as something more because her dreams had blurred the lines between what Robb was in her dreams and what he was in reality.
She wondered if perhaps she needed to see someone. But how in the hell did one talk to a therapist about having X-rated dreams about your brother that left you aroused? That made you see him differently and get jealous over the fact that he was dating someone? They would look at her as though she was disgusting and quite honestly, she felt pretty disgusting. What was going to make it stop?
xxxxxxx
So, Sansa had gotten her kiss from Jon. Well, wasn't that just great.
As he helped Arya and Bran set up tents for shade over the picnic tables, he inwardly seethed. Sansa was still putting him at a distance, but this time it wasn't because she didn't feel she knew him all that well. No, this time he had obviously pissed her off to the point that she was actively shoving him out of her life. As if the fact that she didn't remember anything about him, about them, wasn't bad enough. Now it was like the radio silence of the five years he was in California, but this time it was worse because she was right in front of him and he could do nothing.
He almost felt as though that part of his life hadn't existed. It had been wiped from Sansa's memory, he had been wiped from her memory. Was it real? Did it happen? Was it just some construct of his mind?
Robb felt out to sea. Lost. Adrift. Just like those days before he discovered Sansa felt something for him, too. He almost didn't feel real. He had never felt more alone in his life. Sansa forgetting him and trying to awkwardly establish some kind of brother-sister relationship with him was one thing, but this – this shutting him out was another thing entirely.
And being here, in this park, where there were memories of them everywhere…
Before their relationship there was the pond where they swam together. The playgrounds where they played when they were kids. The swings where he'd push her just so he could be alone with her. And then after their relationship there was the parking lot where they'd park at night and make love in the backseat. The trail they'd sometimes walk through and fool around on.
He was ashamed of himself for even parking in the spot they used to park in. She hadn't noticed. And he wasn't quite sure what he'd expected. He'd park there and she'd have this grand revelation?
Yes, actually. It was what he'd hoped for even though he knew it was wrong. He was constantly caught between wanting to protect Sansa from what he knew would probably disturb and disgust her if she remembered and wanting desperately for her to remember so he wasn't alone in this.
Theoretically speaking if she remembered he wouldn't be alone in this…he figured if/when that time came, he'd cross that bridge if/when he came to it.
"Robb, you okay?" Bran asked.
Robb nodded and shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans. "I was just thinking now was a good time to start that debilitating drug habit I've been meaning to pick up."
Bran laughed. "Yeah, I'll go see if I can get you a coffee."
Robb nodded his thanks and watched his brother run off.
"Robb!"
Inwardly, he sighed and looked over at Arya. "Yeah?"
"Can you go see what the fuck Sansa is doing over there by the swings? She's not helping."
Robb sighed. "Why don't you go see what she's doing?"
"Because I need to help Mom get some more crap from the car."
"Language, Arya!" Catelyn called out.
"Fuck me," Arya muttered irritably.
Robb just laughed.
xxxxxxxxx
"Roslin likes Harry, but then Shae told me that Harry likes me and not Roslin," Sansa said.
"And do you like Harry?" Robb asked from behind her.
She felt him push her forward on the swing and she considered her answer. "No. I don't think I do. I'm not sure I like anyone right now, honestly."
"Well, I can't say that I'm not pleased to hear that."
Sansa looked over her shoulder at him. "And why is that?"
"Because I'm not sure anyone is good enough for you in that fucking high school," he told her matter-of-factly.
"In that case I'll be sure not to tell when I do like someone. I don't need you scaring them off."
"Sansa."
Robb came to stand beside her as she stared at the swing set. She pointed to it. "In high school, you pushed me on the swings there and I told you about how Roslin had a crush on Harry and Shae told me that Harry had a crush on me and not Roslin."
"Yes," Robb said softly.
She turned slightly and pointed to the sandbox. "And there you punched some kid after he pushed me into the dirt when we were kids."
"Yes," he said.
"I don't even know who Harry is."
His hands itched to touch her. To draw her close, to run his fingers through his hair – something, anything. He didn't feel like he was fading away so much now and he craved contact to confirm that. "It doesn't matter. You remembered things about me – about our…relationship. That's what matters." He pointed to the jungle gym. "Do you remember playing knights and maidens in there?"
She furrowed her brow. "No. I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry, Sansa." He couldn't stop himself from hugging her then. God, when was the last time he'd held her in his arms? When he'd first arrived home? He cradled the back of her head. Let his mother say something to him, right now he didn't care. Sansa had memories of them.
"I could feel it," she said. "The closeness we had."
Robb shut his eyes and had to fight hard not bury his nose in her hair. "Yes." He could feel her arms around him, her hands warm through his shirt.
"Hey…" came a slightly familiar voice.
No, no, don't interrupt us, Robb thought. Not yet. Give us just a little more time…
But then Sansa was detangling herself and leaving him. "Jon!" she said excitedly.
Fucking Jon…
"I just had memories," Sansa told Jon.
Jon smiled broadly. "What did you remember?"
She relayed to Jon what she'd told Robb and Robb smiled at the excitement in her voice and in her face.
And then he began to worry.
She'd had two memories back to back and in a short span of time. This park was rife with them. What if she had one she didn't know how to deal with?
He had to keep an eye on her. God, and he'd parked in that same spot as he used to…shit. It didn't seem like such a good idea to him anymore. If she remembered them, the way they were, and didn't know how to process something like that…what would it do to her mind? If Sansa remembered them, Robb wanted her in a safe place when it happened, and preferably with him by her side.
xxxxxxxxx
Sansa felt as though she was walking on a cloud after having those two memories return. It had been the strangest thing. She had been helping Rickon set up a tent and all she'd done was glance over at the playground and she'd seen the whole scene like a movie playing out in her head. After she'd finished with Rickon she'd gone over there to see if anything else could trigger a memory. Only one other thing had (the sandbox), but that was still something amazing in Sansa's point of view.
And, it had seemed to break down the wall that had been there between her and Robb. A wall she had constructed, but a wall nonetheless. She was so happy to have remembered, and she was happy to have made Robb happy, too.
It wasn't even bothering her that Margaery hadn't left Robb's side once since she'd arrived. That was fine. Sansa had Jon. Jon had been by her side the entire time.
Now they were sitting on the little beach together away from the festivities and just looking out over
the water together and talking.
Sansa dug out her Altoids from her pocket and handed Jon one and then took one for herself. He grinned knowingly at her. "What?" she asked.
"I know you want a kiss when you dig out the Altoids," he told her and she laughed and blushed.
She sighed and leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder. He wound an arm around her and she shut her eyes and smiled with contentment.
"So, your brother doesn't seem to like me much," Jon said.
Sansa's eyes popped open and she frowned. "Which one?"
"Robb."
"Meh. He's just doing his big brother thing. Don't worry about it."
"I kind of do though. He's your big brother and I want him to like me."
"Don't worry about it." She popped her head up and looked at him with a smile. "All that matters is
that I like you."
Jon grinned and leaned in for a kiss. "Can't argue with that," he murmured.
When they parted, she sighed and looked around. She pointed to the beginning of the path – or the end of it depending on which way you caught it – and asked if Jon if he wanted to walk it.
"I've been here like maybe twice since my accident," Sansa said. "I know my Mom used to take us all the time as kids, and I obviously hung out here in high school with Robb a few times – hence the memory. Want to check out the path with me? I haven't done that at all since my accident."
Jon stood and held out his hands. "Sure," he said.
She placed her hands in his and stood. They kissed briefly, and then started on the path into the woods.
xxxxxxx
"Arya, have you seen your sister?" Robb asked as he scanned the perimeter of the gathering.
"I did," Margaery piped up. "She and Jon went down to the beach I think."
Robb had a bad feeling. He wasn't sure where it was coming from – maybe just his own fears and worries, but he'd managed to keep a close eye on Sansa for most of the afternoon and he wasn't about to lose track of her now.
There were so many minefields of memories to be had in this park, and Robb needed to be there with her just in case. "Mind if we go down there and see how they're doing?" he asked Margaery. He was really doing the polite thing by asking because, quite frankly, even if she said no he was still going out there.
Margaery smiled. "It's so cute how protective you are of your sister," she said. "Sure, let's go."
xxxxxxxx
The path was nice. Trees surrounded them and the trail was so thin they had to walk single-file.
Every once in a while a chipmunk would dash across Jon's path. As long as a snake didn't come slithering out, Sansa would count this hike as a success.
They rounded a corner and the trail opened up considerably. A steep hill was before them, and behind that hill was another one. Sansa followed Jon over the crest of a smaller hill where the trail actually was and she glanced up to the side at the hills covered with acorns and leaves.
And then she saw it like a movie in her head. Just as the other memories had come.
"No one is going to be coming down here, I promise," Robb said as he sat beside her on the crest of the second hill.
"We're all alone…come on."
"But someone could walk by, Robb," she protested.
"No one will. Trust me."
He pushed her back onto the hill and kissed her. "I'll even be quick," he said huskily and undid the snap of her jeans. He trailed kisses down her body and then pulled her jeans down and then her panties and proceeded to go down on her. She tangled her fingers in his curls and gasped at the feel of his tongue on her. She loved also, the feel of his beard rubbing in just the right places…
There was a ringing in Sansa's ears as the scene ended in her mind.
"Sansa!"
She blinked and found Jon standing there looking almost frantic. "What happened? Where did you go? You just stopped and I thought you were right behind me," he explained. "I called your name but you wouldn't answer. What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost. Are you having another memory? A bad one?"
But Sansa didn't know how to answer him. She couldn't even form words. She couldn't even think. Had that been an actual memory or a memory of a dream she didn't remember having? All her other memories had come to her in that way though.
No, no. That couldn't have been a memory. It couldn't have been. How was that…no.
"Sansa, talk to me, you're scaring me."
"I think I'm going to be sick," she said. Her stomach roiled. She ran behind the nearest tree and threw up.
"Sansa, sweetheart," Jon murmured as he came up beside her and started to rub her back. "Let's go back, okay? You might have food poisoning."
Tears stung her eyes. She was going crazy. She'd snapped; she'd officially snapped. She didn't even
remember the rest of the walk out of the trail. She felt outside of herself, as though she wasn't in her body anymore.
When they hit the parking lot and she saw Robb's car another one played out in her head.
Sansa and Robb were curled up in the backseat of his car and they were laughing together.
"I'm doing it," she said and stretched up to slap her hand against the steamed window.
Robb laughed and pulled her back down. He kissed her and smiled against her mouth. "Happy now? You had yourTitanic moment."
"Yes," she murmured and kissed him. "Hey, guess what?"
"What?" he asked as he trailed a hand down her back.
"I love you."
He smiled. "I love you, too."
"I think I'm going to be sick again," she muttered. "Take me home, Jon, please, take me home."
"Let me get you in the car and then I'll go tell your family."
"No, just get me out of here. Please, I need to go. I can't be here. I need to go."
"Do you have your cell on you? You need to tell someone you're leaving, Sansa."
She nodded and fumbled with her phone with shaking hands. She couldn't make it work. She couldn't grip the phone, she couldn't see anything from the tears that blurred her eyes.
"I'll call," Jon said and took her phone. He led her quickly to his car and she got in, her limbs feeling like jelly. Jon shut the door behind her and she heard him talking, but she didn't know to who. And he took a while talking to them. When he got in the car she asked him who he'd called.
"Robb," Jon said. "He's on the trail with Margaery. He sounded worried. I told him I was taking you home, that you got sick on the trail."
"Did you tell him anything else?"
Jon paused after he started the car. "I told him you weren't acting right."
"I always cry when I throw up," she said weakly.
"No, Sansa, you look spooked. Like you witnessed a murder or something. Did you remember something?"
She didn't answer. She didn't know how. She couldn't think clearly enough to come up with a lie.
"I'm fine, Jon," she whispered.
"I'll take you home and stay with you for as long as you need okay?"
Sansa nodded, wondering if she was actually losing her mind.
