Chapter 33
Jon Snow Stark POV
It's Valentine's Day, and Dany doesn't know that I have a surprise for her. I'm making her favorite pasta dish and having dinner with her when she gets back from work. I know she's probably had a stressful day since it's Valentine's Day. I told her I was working when I was really planning this.
I lit some candles and played some music. I feel like we don't have as much time to be romantic lately, so I really wanted to do this. When she walks in, she's immediately surprised to see me.
"Hey," she says. "I thought you had to work today."
"I wanted to surprise you," I say. "Happy Valentine's Day."
She smiles at me, walks up to me, and gives me a hug. We kiss, she looks so happy.
"What did you make?" She asks. "It smells amazing."
"I made fettucine alfredo," I say. "That's your favorite, right?"
"Yes," she says, chuckling. "Good job."
"I also made garlic bread, and I got some chocolate mousse," I say. "I didn't make that, I'm sorry."
"That's fine with me," she says. "I had a long day at work, honestly anything would've made me happy."
"Was it busy?"
"Yeah," she says. "And it was weird, I honestly felt myself missing Cersei."
"Really, why?"
"We've been through a lot together," Dany says. We start to get plates out of the cabinet and put our food on them. "This is probably the longest we've gone without talking ever."
"Do you think it's for the best?"
"Honestly, I do," she says. "I'm not saying we'll never be friends again, but she needs to get her shit together before we can be anywhere near as close as we used to."
I think that's a good idea. Cersei's been toxic for a long time, and I'm glad Dany is starting to see it. I want her to end her friendship with her completely, but I'd never pressure her to do that and I know that's easier said than done. I do think some space from Cersei would be good for her.
"Oh, I meant to tell you," I say as we sit down and start eating. "Sam and Gilly decided to get married over spring break."
"Wow, really?" She asks. "Why did they decide on sooner?"
"I think they just really want to be married," I say. "They want Gilly to be able to have a future without her family in the way, and they want it sooner rather than later."
"That makes sense," Dany says. "Do they still want you to be a witness."
"Yeah," I say. "Me and Ygritte."
She pauses and then shrugs. "Oh, okay," she says. "That makes sense."
"I asked if you could come," I say. "I don't think they would mind."
"I'm good," she says. "I know they want it to be private, it makes sense that they would just want their closest friends there."
"Do you mind that I'll be hanging out with Ygritte?"
"Not really at this point," she says. "She actually apologized to me when we were all over at Sam's place."
"Really?"
"Yeah," she says. "She said she was sorry for the way she acted towards me, and for the feelings she had for you after you guys broke up."
"That's nice of her," I say. "I'm glad to hear you guys can be civil."
"It was so long ago that everything happened," Dany says. "I'm glad it's all behind us, and I'm glad Sam and Gilly have a friend like Ygritte to help them with their baby."
"I'm surprised she's been so helpful," I say. "She stayed with them for weeks after he was born, which I'm sure Gilly appreciated."
There's a pause as we keep eating. "Our three year anniversary will be around that time," Dany eventually says. "What were you thinking we could do?"
"Oh, that's right," I say. I feel bad that I forgot about it, but so much has been going on. "Can we just go out to eat or something?"
"Sure," she says. "Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, it's just that Spring Break will probably be when I have to do the DNA test for my dad," she says. "I'm sorry, I've been under a lot of stress lately."
"I understand that," she says. "I'm sorry for putting more on you."
"You're not, I just haven't thought about our anniversary as much as I should have."
"It means a lot to me that you surprised me tonight," she says. "Really, this made my whole month."
I smile at her. "I really love you," I say. "I promise we'll do something for our anniversary, just give me a little time."
"Well I love you more," she says. "And it's really not a huge deal, I just wanted to start thinking about it."
"I'm still sorry," I say. "I should have been thinking about it more."
"Maybe," Dany says. "But you have had a lot on your mind, I understand."
"Thanks for being so understanding," I say. "You're the best."
"Not after tonight," she says. "You're definitely the best for doing this for me."
We finish eating and clean up. We end up doing some homework and then having sex before going to bed. I'm glad I did this for her and I'm glad she liked it, it was a nice and quiet Valentine's Day celebration for us.
I do feel bad for not thinking about our anniversary until now, but I really have been going through a lot. I'll plan something for us, I just need time to think of it. I want it to be something romantic, Dany deserves it after we've been together for this long.
Jaime Lannister POV
I'm a little sad that Brienne and I are apart for Valentine's Day, it's the first time I've celebrated Valentine's Day with someone other than Cersei. I wanted to get Brienne something, but I couldn't think of anything I could send her in time. I decide to call her instead. She doesn't know I'm calling her, so I hope it'll be a nice surprise.
I sit on the couch and give her a call. "Hello?" She says when she answers. "Jaime?"
"Hey babe," I say. "Happy Valentine's Day."
"Happy Valentine's Day," she says. "I miss you."
"I really miss you," I say. "I wish we could be together."
"I miss you too," she says. "I liked being able to spend the weekend with you, but I wish I could've stayed longer."
"Me too," I say. "We finally got some alone time at my place, and it was over way too soon."
"Sorry if I've seemed distant at all," she says. "I thought I would enjoy the sex more than I did, and I felt a little weird about it."
"I get it," I say. "It can be kind of difficult if you haven't done it in a while, or much at all."
She pauses. I hope I didn't upset her by bringing up her lack of experience. "I'm also just not a very sexual person, I guess," she says. "But we can keep trying."
"We'll go at your pace," I say. "I really like you."
"Thank you," she says. "That means a lot to me, I know you weren't that stoked about waiting when I said I wanted to."
"Well I like you," I say. "And relationships are all about compromise."
"I agree," she says. "Thank you. I still wish we could be together today."
"Me too."
I hope Brienne can't tell that I'm lying about being okay with taking things slower. I hope she still wants to sleep with me next time I see her. I want to seem like a nice guy, but I'm not sure how I would react if she wanted to stop having sex altogether. That's important to me, and we already barely get to see each other.
Cersei walks in, I thought she'd be out for most of the day and maybe even tonight.
"I have to go," I say. "But happy Valentine's Day, babe."
"Happy Valentine's Day," she says. "It means a lot that you called me."
"I wanted to," I say. "Since we can't be together, I wanted to let you know that I was thinking about you."
"Maybe I'll send you a picture of me later," she says. "If you're lucky." That catches me off guard, I wouldn't expect her to do something like that.
"I would like that," I say. "I'll talk to you later."
"Bye, Jaime." We hang up the phone and Cersei goes into her room.
"What are you doing here?" I call out.
"I live here," she calls back out from her room. "Did you forget that?"
"I just thought you'd be out with Bronn," I say. "That's all."
"I'm about to go," she says, walking out of her room. She changed into a skimpier outfit. "Was that Brienne on the phone?"
"Yeah," I say. "I was just wishing her a happy Valentine's Day."
"Spare me the details," she says. "I don't need to know everything."
I roll my eyes. "Grow up," I say. "I thought you were leaving."
"I am," she says, walking towards the door. "Don't wait up for me." She leaves and slams the front door behind her.
I wasn't going to wait up for her, she still seems to think I'm pining over her. I get it, I spent many many years doing that. That part of my life is over, and I know she hates that. She still wants me to want her, even if she would never admit it. That's just how she is.
It was nice to talk to Brienne, but I still wish I could be with her today. I hope she actually does send me a picture, but I didn't want to sound too eager. I know she has a difficult time with sexuality, and I don't want her to think that's all I want from her. I know she thought that for a while, and I want her to know that I care about her.
Sansa Stark POV
I'm single again on Valentine's Day. I'm honestly fine with that, since I have bad memories associated with this day. It is what it is, I'm glad I don't feel the need to be in a relationship. I let my identity be tied to what other people thought of me for too long.
Arya and I are in our room, it's about 11 p.m. "Are you okay?" I ask her.
"Why wouldn't I be?" She asks.
"Being single on Valentine's Day and all," I say. "I know you still miss Gendry."
"I'm moving on," she says. "I don't want to dwell on it."
I pause. I feel bad for bringing it up. "Do you want to do something fun?" I ask.
"Like what?" She responds. "It's 11 at night."
"Anything," I say. "That drive-in is open until midnight, we could get milkshakes."
Arya smiles. "That sounds really good," she says. "Let's do it."
We sneak out the back door quietly. My parents are asleep, and if Bran and Rickon catch us they'll demand to come with us or else they'll tell on us. We get in the car and slowly back out of the driveway.
We drive up to the intercom and order our milkshakes. "So are you excited for your fencing competition?" I ask Arya.
"Yeah," she says. "But I'm nervous. I haven't competed in a while."
"You'll crush it," I say. "I know you will."
"You'll be there, right?"
"Of course I will," I say. "I promise."
The employee walks up to our car and hands us our shakes.
"Are you going to prom this year?" Arya asks me.
I'm a little surprised, I'm not sure where that came from. "I haven't really thought about it," I say. "It's only January."
"You should go," she says. "It's your senior year."
"Yeah, I probably will," I say. "Will you?"
"No, since I'm not a senior." Right, I forgot. Non-seniors can't really go to prom unless they have a date that's a senior.
"Do you know what's been going on with Jon lately?" Arya asks me aftet a pause.
"What do you mean?"
"Don't tell me you haven't noticed," she says. "He's not around as much, and when he is he has a lot more private conversations with dad than he used to."
"I guess I have noticed that a little, now that you mention it," I say. "You know that Jon's always wanted to be brooding and mysterious."
Arya chuckles. "Yeah, but he isn't really," she says. "I don't know, I just found it interesting."
"Do you miss him?"
"Sometimes," she says. "It just feels weird not having him around as another parent all the time."
"That's how I felt when Robb left at first," I say. "But I kinda get why Jon doesn't want to be around as much."
"Why?"
"I know taking care of us was stressful for him and Robb," I say. "I think he's just glad he has more abilities to do what he wants now."
"Is that how you're going to be?" She asks me.
"What do you mean?"
"Are you going to stop coming around once you go off to college?" She asks. "Are you that excited to leave?"
"I told you, I'll always come back," I say. "I could never just leave you."
"Good," she says. "I'll miss you a lot."
"You'll still have Bran and Rickon," I say. "But I'll miss you too, you know that."
"It's not the same with Bran and Rickon," she says. "Plus, they're getting annoying."
"They always were."
"I know," Arya says. "But even more than usual."
"You can come hang out with me and Dany whenever you want," I say. "Just call me up and I'll come get you."
"Thank you, Sansa," she says. "I love you."
"I love you too."
Now that she mentions it, Jon has been acting kind of weird. I didn't really notice it until she brought it up, but he has definitely been around significantly less and he's been having weirdly secretive conversations with dad more. Arya's always been really observant, it makes sense that she would pick up on that.
I know he always felt like the outsider in the family and it's probably just Jon wanting more freedom, but I wonder if something else is bothering him. He did have to put a lot of his desires on hold to help my parents, and he and Robb didn't deserve that stress. It probably is just him breaking away like Robb did.
I don't know why Arya keeps asking me if I'll come back to see her or if I'll forget about her, I've reassured her a million times. I guess I sort of understand, it's just been the two of us girls our whole lives.
There were times where we really only had each other to lean on, since we never felt like we could open up to our mom when we really needed to. I'm sure we'll both end up really missing each other once I leave for college.