Chapter 12

Petyr is the first to wake and he smiles, keeping his eyes closed, as he feels the weight of his new wife laying on his chest. He thinks back to their wedding night and his smile widens. He had done things to her he had yet to up until then. He could still taste her on his lips, hear her as she gasped his name when he had licked her and entered her with his tongue. He could feel her hands in his hair holding him close to her and he used his mouth on her in ways she had never imagined. He could still fell her trembling beneath him as he reminisced about how he entered her while she was still coming down from one high peak and quickly brought her to the next one. And the next.

She stirred and lazily lifted her head to look into his now open eyes. "Good morning my dear husband." She grinned up at him. He kissed her forehead and said "Good morning my lovely wife. I was just thinking of last night."

Sansa raised her eyebrows at him and asked "You were, were you?" She turned her head to his chest and started kissing a path down his stomach. "I was dreaming of last night myself. I was thinking maybe I could return a few favors, since I didn't get the chance before." Petyr closed his eyes and laid his head back down as her lips traveled further south until they reached their destination. He sucked in his breath quickly as she lowered her mouth on him and quite expertly, for a girl who claimed to have no real experience, brought him over the edge at an alarmingly fast rate.

Hours later when the sun was high above them in the sky outside the castle walls, they lay with their limbs entangled breathing sighs of contentment. "If I had known being your wife would be so... satisfying, I may have insisted upon marrying your before we left the Vale." Sansa said lazily. Petyr chuckled and said "My dear wife, good things come to those who wait."

"Speaking of waiting, I have been meaning to ask you about something but I keep getting distracted." She said with a smile as she sat up. "Only good distractions, I hope." He replied, sitting up to join her.

She laughed, "Yes, only good distractions. However, I noticed something last night at the feast and would appreciate an explanation on the matter."

"Ok. What is it?" He said slightly nervous. He currently had no major plans in action here in Winterfell so he couldn't imagine what she spoke of.

"There was a girl, in the hall. The kitchen servant who served the lemon cake to everyone." She said, not yet asking a question.

"I remember her, what is your question my wife?" Ahhh, so she noticed. He really did need to give her more credit. She had learned from the best hadn't she?

"Well, I noticed that she could not keep her eyes off of you. And she was much too close to you for it to be considered appropriate. I do not believe that anything too serious has transpired between the two of you but I know that there is definitely something you haven't told me yet in regards to her." She said.

Petyr thought to himself for a moment. He spent his whole life only trusting himself and never letting anyone in on his plans and manipulations completely. If he wanted to continue in the Game and keep her trust in him intact he would have to be completely honest with her in all aspects. Though the thought of always telling her everything went against the core of his being, he found that it did not bother him quite as much as he had expected it to. In fact, he found that he was looking forward to having her be his partner in crime. So to speak.

He moved on the bed to face her completely and grabbed one of her hands in his and held it in his lap. "She is nothing but a pawn, my little wolf." He began. "I met her after the battle and thought she could be useful in the future so I occasionally engage in conversation with her to keep her on the hook." She kept her emotions in check, letting none of them show on her face. He continues "I never once lead her on to believe that something more between her and I will ever transpire, but I do admit to being more generous in my attention to her than I would with the average servant. She is to be our little bird. I promise you that I will never take another woman to my bed that isn't you, Sansa Baelish. You are my most cherished possession and hold all of my attention from here until my dying breath. There will never be any competition or reason to be jealous where my heart and body is concerned. I am yours, truly and wholly. You trust my words don't you my love?"

All while he spoke she did not say a word. She sat silently listening to everything he said to be certain she did not hear a lie. She was very pleased with what she heard. Petyr had spoken only the truth. She smiled at him and said "Of course I trust you my love. I believe you. Everything you said. I didn't doubt your faithfulness, I was only curious your exact relationship with the girl." After assuaging his ego she asked, "So, what information has she given to you?"

"To us." He corrected. "Nothing as of yet. I've only been able to just get her onto my side a couple of days ago." He told her of the flower and how he intentionally had her bring the cakes to their chambers after he knew Sansa would be there to keep her on her toes so she wouldn't read too much into the small gift.

"You are too cruel, Lord Baelish." She teased him. "That poor girl doesn't stand a chance against the feelings she will surely develop for you, if she hsasn't already."

Petyr was very pleased with how well the talk was going. Having her in the know was actually rather enjoyable. He could imagine many entertaining hours conspiring together in the future. At that thought he smiled and stood up. "Come now woman, it is time to dress for your husband is famished." She laughed that laugh he had only heard once before. His heart sang in joy at the sound.

"Woman, eh?" She jested as she got off the bed and began to chase him around the bed. He laughed as he let her catch her after evading her grasp for a few steps. He held her around her waist and lifted her off her feet and spun her around. Tears fell down her face as she laughed harder than she probably had since she was a child without a care in the world. Petyr could not remember the last time he had had so much fun with someone. Genuine and exciting fun without the inclusion of sex. It had been decades. A lifetime.

As he set her back on her feet and turned her to face him she slid her arms around his middle and smiled at him. "I do love you, you know that right?" She asked him.

"Yes, my love. I do know that. I love you too little wolf. More than you'll ever know." He gave her one sweet kiss and released her. "Now get dressed. I don't want you swooning for lack of food." She kissed his chin and turned to her chest and picked out a dress and busied herself with putting it on.

The next few days went mostly the same with them doing their duties during the day and laughing and making love during the night. Petyr now sat at the head table in the hall next to his wife and council meetings among the men of the North were a bit different. They held him in higher esteem and seemed to listen a bit more attentively to his advice, assuming that if Sansa Stark trusted him enough to marry him then surely they could trust him a bit more too.

About a week after he had left in the night, Jon sent a raven from the Wall stating that he had made it safely and that Bran was indeed there and alive and well. After a few days of resting and restocking their supplies they would make their way back down to Winterfell.

"Well, the scroll seems positive. No mention of needing to speak with me when he arrives back home or anything else ominous." Sansa said relieved. "Do you think that perhaps Bran hasn't said anything yet? Jon was never good at hiding his emotions. And they were usually of the negative sort."

"I agree, your half brother is rather vocal in his opinions. I don't believe Bran has said anything. Maybe he will wait to speak with you first. Either way, I still stand by my original opinion that you shouldn't worry until there is reason to. Just stay calm my little wolf. It will all be ok. You are now a married woman with an army of Knights larger than anyone else's in the realm, save for those in Kings Landing. But they won't bother with issues in the North if it does not concern them, and this does not." He said trying to ease her worried mind.

"As always, you are right my Lord. I will not fret until there is a true reason to." She said, nodding her head to herself.

"I am your husband Sansa. Not your Lord." He reminded her.

"I'm sorry. Old habits die hard. Blame it on my impeccable breeding." She joked.

"Impeccable indeed." He said as he lead her to their chambers.

A week later Sansa called for Petyr to join her in the room off their bedchamber. "I have finished your wedding gift, finally." She said proudly.

There was a large packaged on his desk wrapped in fabric and twine. He untied the bow and let the strings fall to the desk. As he opened the fabric he saw more fabric within. He pulled the garment up off the desk and shook it out a bit. It was a cloak. The outer layer was solid black and had black fur along the collar. "I know the fur is not normally your style, but Winter is here and it'll be the coldest one in memory. I wanted to make sure you stayed warm." She explained as she watched him run his fingers along the soft fur.

"I do appreciate it my love. I will wear it with pride. And I am positive I will be grateful of the furs as the weather grows colder." He said and meant it.

"You haven't even seen the best part." Giddily she took the cloak from his hands and turned it inside out. The inside of the cloak was a golden yellow, like his banner colors. And at the part of the cloak that would be touching his heart there were two sigils side by side in intricate detail. A mockingbird and a Direwolf's head.

He inspected the stitching closely and praised her "The detail is exquisite, my love."

"Now you will always have me close to your heart, in it and on it. Also, it represents us standing side by side but apart of the same piece. We are two halves of a whole."

"Sansa my dear, I can't even begin to tell you how much I love this. It is truly a masterpiece. The perfect wedding gift. Thank you so much." He said and brought her close for a kiss, or two.

"I am glad you like it." She said

"Love it." He corrected.

...

Just as the moon was nearing the end of it's cycle Sansa and Petyr stood outside on the battlements looking towards the North. In the distance they heard the sound of hooves galloping towards Winterfell. Sansa reached out for Petyr's hand and held it tightly. Without looking at him she said "They are home."

A/N: Sorry, I know this is a shorter chapter than usual. I didn't want to keep making up a bunch of fluf just to get more words in though. I also didn't want to start any of the fun stuff coming just to stop in the middle of it. So, enjoy for now. Next chapter will be more exciting. Be ready! Thank you to everyone who's reviewed and favorited and followed my story! Y'all are awesome! It makes my day!