Chapter 2
Jon Snow Stark POV
Dany and I are on our way to the tour we booked for the studio apartment. It's great that you can book that stuff online and you don't necessarily need an official real estate agent, we're too young and inexperienced to know how to navigate that kind of stuff anyway.
"Are you excited?" I ask Dany.
"Definitely," she says. "I'm a little nervous we won't find a place in time, though."
"Why wouldn't we?"
"I don't know," Dany says. "What if we don't like any of them?"
"We may have to accept that our first place that we get isn't the perfect one we imagined," I say. "People rarely get a nice apartment in college."
"I know," she says. "I just want us to like the place we get at least a little."
"I'll make sure we do," I say. "I'll like it no matter what because you're there." Dany smiles at me even though we both know that was a corny thing to say.
We eventually drive up to the complex and enter the gate code that was provided online, that makes us feel a little more secure that it's a gated community. We find guest parking and head up to the apartment to wait for the leasing person that's supposed to provide the tour.
"Jon and Daenerys?" A woman asks when she walks up to the doorway. We just nod and she shakes our hands. "Nice to meet you both."
"You too," Dany says. "This is a really nice complex."
"Thanks," she says, unlocking the door. "We have a lot of units, but we try to get to know everyone as best as we can."
We walk into the apartment, it's small which is definitely what I expected from a studio. It looks more spacious without furniture, but I know once we put a bed in and decorate it it'll seem even smaller than it already does.
"So it's a studio with a full bath," the leasing person says. "Water is included, and there's a laundry facility as well."
"That's helpful," Dany says. "We won't have to pay for laundry. We're college students, so we wouldn't want to pay for laundry if we don't have to."
I laugh at that. It's funny because Dany definitely doesn't have to worry about money. I don't really either, but she especially doesn't. Paying for laundry is still annoying, don't get me wrong. But it's not like we can't afford it.
I'm going to get a job once we find a place and move in. I'm glad I spent my first year of college focusing on school, I feel very lucky that I was able to do that. I do want to be an actual adult, though. I want to know what it's like to live on my own, work and go to school. I feel like I need to try and balance all of that.
Daenerys Targaryen POV
Jon and I keep looking around in the apartment, there isn't much to look at since it's just a studio. It's still not a bad apartment, I could see us living here.
"What do you think?" Jon asks me.
"It's not bad," I say. "We could make it a cute place to live."
"You'll make it cute," he says, hugging me from behind. "But seriously, give me your honest opinion."
"I like it more than I thought I would," I say. "I still want to look at the other one, though before we make a final decision."
"Of course," he says. "That was always the plan."
We stop at a drive thru to get food after the tour, this went better than I expected.
"I can still sleep at your place tonight, right?" Jon asks me as we're waiting in line to pull up to the window.
"Yeah," I say. "My dad won't be there tonight, and I feel better when you're with me."
He smiles at me. "It's much more peaceful being with you than with my siblings," he says. "I love them. But they can be a lot to deal with now that Robb has a family of his own and I'm the only one around to help."
"Sansa can help, right?" I ask him as we pull up to the window and he pays for the food. "And the other siblings don't need as much supervision these days, I imagine."
"You'd be surprised," Jon says. "They're still troublemakers, even though Rickon is 12 and Bran is almost 13."
We park into a spot and start eating so we can take a break before heading back to my place.
"Wow, they're really growing up then."
"Yeah," Jon says. "Still little troublemakers, though. I love them, but I am glad I don't have to take care of them as much anymore. Is that bad?"
"I don't think so," I say. "I'm the youngest, so I never had to take care of my siblings. I can imagine that would be draining."
"It definitely was," he says. "Do you miss your brothers?"
"I never met my oldest one," I say. "At least not that I can remember. My other brother was kind of a creep, but I do miss him sometimes."
Jon chuckles at that, even though it's true. "I'm sorry you lost both of them and then your dad went through what he did," Jon says. "I can't imagine that."
"You've been through a lot too," I say. "I'm sure it's also been hard for you, we both have had a lot of struggles."
"It has been hard, I wish I knew my mom," he says. "I don't talk about it much, but I think about her a lot. I wonder what she's up to and if she ever thinks about me."
"I hope you get to meet her one day," I say after a pause. "I really mean that." He smiles at me, but doesn't say anything else.
I'm glad we're talking about more personal stuff, even though it's hard on both of us. It's nice to be able to open up to each other, that's what long-term relationships should be about.
Arya Stark POV
Jon is sleeping at Dany's tonight, so I decide to text Gendry.
*What's up?* I ask him.
Ding. *Not much, do you want to hang out?*
*Jon is sleeping over at Dany's tonight, do you want to sneak over?*
Ding. *idk…*
*Come on, I really want to see you.*
Ding. *We can go to the creek.*
*Ugh, but I'm by myself.*
There's a long pause, then I hear a ding. *Fine, but just this once.*
Eventually there's a tap on my window, it's so light that I almost didn't hear it. I peek out of the curtains and see Gendry standing on the ledge. He's looking around a lot as if someone is hiding in the trees waiting to catch him.
"Come in," I whisper, opening the window. "My parents are already asleep."
He sneaks in and I can tell he's really scared. "Do you think they'll wake up?" He asks me.
"No," I say. "When they turn in for the night, they're done. They don't even like for Bran and Rickon to bother them for something important."
"What if I have to pee?"
"You can sneak to the bathroom," I say. "It's right next to our room."
"Okay," he finally says. "But if your parents or Jon kill me, it's your fault."
"Deal."
We lay in bed and start cuddling, it feels really nice to have him here. We kiss a little, and he stops me when he can feel it leading to something more.
"We shouldn't," he says. "Not tonight."
"Why not?"
"Because your parents are in the next room," he says. "They'll hear."
"They really aren't as close as you think," I say. "I can keep quiet."
"I'm not so sure about that," Gendry says, chuckling. "And even if you think you can, I'm not so sure I can."
"Okay, fine," I say. "As long as you stay with me."
"That I can do."
We sleep for a couple hours, and then I feel Gendry stirring awake.
"What time is it?" He asks me.
I look at my phone. "2:30," I say. "Do you want to stay till like 7? That's about when my parents start waking up."
"I think I should head home," he says. "I want to stay, though."
He gets up and puts his shirt on. I'm glad we did this, but I wish we'd gotten to hook up. The risk would've been hot.
"Are you sure you don't want to?" I ask. He pauses, and I can tell he does want to but he's too scared.
"I do," he says. "But not tonight. Maybe next time." At least that's something.
"Bye," he says, kissing me. "I love you."
"Bye Gendry."
He sneaks out the window and I look outside to make sure he got down okay. I'm glad he agreed to this, it was comforting to have him here. I'm glad we didn't make too much noise. Sex might have done that, but I still wish we had gotten to do it. Maybe another time.