A Holiday by Decree
~~ Day 4 ~~
Sansa looked up past her lashes to where Tyrion sat on the far side of the bed looking astonished at her. She tried to ignore the nervous heat radiating out all over her body under his searching gaze.
It felt like an eon since Sansa could last imagine risking her heart in such a way. However, she now understood just how close she had come to missing this opportunity with Tyrion. Sitting up in the library for the past couple hours, wondering if she should go to his door, had reassured her of how much she had come to really desire this unexpected, new chance with him. Surely, it would have seemed impossible to the girl she had been when they had first married, a Sansa of the past untouched by the sheer amount of bloodshed, deceit, and abuse she would later suffer. Now, she reasoned that after all they had both been through, together and apart, Tyrion Lannister quite possibly had to be one of the few men - if not the only man - still alive, with any chance of understanding her and who Sansa was now.
Sansa could only hope now that she was right, and that if she was, Tyrion could find it in himself to patiently accept what she was about to suggest, something which even she wasn't sure yet how to define.
"I have been thinking for quite some time, even before our meeting here, about what if there was a second chance for us," she replied.
Tyrion looked even more thunderstruck than he had a moment prior before regaining himself enough to ask, "You'll have to excuse me, my lady, but by 'for us', you mean for us, as - as, well how do you mean?"
"Well, potentially as a couple, but I thought we might try to, well, spend some time in each other's company first - to see how that feels for both of us," she answered, trying to hide her uncertainty at hearing herself aloud. Tyrion was obviously more shocked than she could have predicted. She feared what he might think and held her breath for his reply.
"You mean like a courtship?" he asked.
"Well, yes, I think that is what it would be, if you would find that agreeable as well," she answered, trying not to feel childish.
Tyrion's shocked expression had softened, replaced with an incredulous half smile. He nodded his head, as he gave her a loaded, sad-eyed look. "You're playing with me," he said, which instantly drew an embarrassed flush to Sansa's cheeks.
I should have known, she thought, preparing for his rejection. She had been too young for him the first time around, and it looked like it would be true this time too.
Tyrion's brow had furrowed at her reaction. Slowly, his face filled with awe. "By the Seven, Sansa, you weren't kidding around, were you?" he finally said, his eyes shining, as she felt his focus on her, there in the lamplight of his room.