Chapter Text
Disclaimer: Nothing’s mine, I’m just a poor mad mage.
Prologue – Sansa’s Perfectly Fine 24 Hours
Sansa could feel it coming. There was just something in the air that morning that filled her with expectations, those wonderful butterflies of excitement fluttering in her stomach, a strange melody humming in her veins. It was going to be a good thing, she knew, and the thought alone put a large smile on her face.
Bran always knew when something was happening, but Sansa’s radar was usually reserved for only good news or changes.
“Come on, Lady, let’s go!” Sansa jiggled her keys and her wolfdog bounded down the stairs of the small three-bedroom rowhouse which she rented from Margaery’s family. Lady’s tongue lolled out of her mouth as she then passed Sansa on the way outside.
Sansa chuckled, locked the door, and put her earbuds in, scrolling through her playlists to put on her running music. The phone in her hand started to ring just as she was slipping it into the back pocket of her shorts.
Her house was the last one at the end of Briar Lane and it was close to the park adjacent to the Mander River. The Tyrells owned the whole block – almost the entire family were realtors, with the notable exception of the old matriarch, who had been a surgeon, and Marg, who loved gossip and worked as a columnist.
When she accepted the call, Olenna Tyrell’s voice greeted her, “Hello, Sansa, darling. Enjoying your run?”
“Hello, Mrs. Tyrell,” Sansa answered. “I’ve just hit the track. How can I help you?”
“Haven’t I told you to call me just Grandma as dear Margaery does?”
“…yes, Grandma.” Lady stopped at the crossroads, waiting for Sansa patiently. She was such a well-behaved dog that Sansa couldn’t understand why people were looking at poor Lady so fearfully. It wasn’t like the wolfdog would eat them. She was well-mannered and sweet.
“Good girl, now… I know that you’ll be busy this summer with your exhibition starting soon, but I need to ask you for a favor. If it’ll be too much, I’ll of course understand, but you are a capable young woman and I think you’ll handle it just wonderfully. What do you say?”
“Of course, Mrs. Ty-” Olenna made a tsking sound, so Sansa amended quickly, “Grandma.”
Olenna remained silent as if she was thinking carefully about her next words. Sansa caught up to Lady, patting her head – that was at the level of her waist – and gave the old lady who was looking slightly faint a friendly smile. Then they continued their way to the park.
“I have an old friend who found himself in a difficult situation. He needs a place away from prying eyes to stay for a while, so I’ve offered him the house next to yours.”
That was strange. Olenna Tyrell wasn’t one to beat around the bush. This time, Sansa was the one who remained silent, just humming and encouraging Olenna to continue. “Uh-huh.”
“He’s been shot.”
“How awful!” Sansa had to stop at another crossroad and wiped her sweaty brows. Poor man, no wonder Olenna was sounding so out of sorts. “Is he going to be alright?”
“If the idiot does as I tell him, then he’ll be right as rain.”
“I’m sure he’ll be willing to listen, Grandma.” Sansa suppressed a giggle and continued, feeling inexplicably amused by the wry tone the older woman had used. There was no doubt that she cared deeply about the person if she was calling him an idiot. “What can I do for you and your friend, then?”
She suspected that he would need help around the house, depending on the nature of the wound, and maybe with cleaning and dressing it as well. Sansa had only a year of med school, but she could help him with that easily.
“Make sure he doesn’t undo all my hard work and tear his stitches, keeps the wound clean and dressed, and doesn’t starve to death,” Olenna said briskly. “If you find the time and guts, help him around the house as well. His arm is useless right now and that makes him quite cranky.”
“That’s understandable. He was shot, it would make anyone irritable.”
“Irritable is his default state, dear. Now he’s just got an excuse for it. If he gives you any trouble, feel free to set Lady on him.”
“Will do,” laughed Sansa.
“Good, suffocating on dog hair will teach him. Now, he should be there this morning, so if you could just check on him…”
“Of course.”
They chatted for a few more moments with Sansa running at a slower tempo than she usually would. She loved Olenna as if she was her grandmother, and the Tyrell matriarch had been more than willing to help Sansa when her parents had turned their back to her.
Thinking about Ned and Catelyn Stark brought back unpleasant memories, so she forcefully focused on finishing her run, adopting a punishing pace. When she returned home, a moving van was parked in front of the neighboring house. When she rounded the corner to her backyard, two burly men were just placing a rocking chair on her neighbor’s terrace.
The man directing them was tall, blond, and broad-shouldered. Sansa came to an embarrassingly sudden stop as she stared at his figure. His posture was perfect and under the white, perfectly fitted shirt she could see the well-defined muscles of his back. He was slender but looked strong, and he was also much younger than Sansa had been expecting.
When Olenna had said ‘an old friend,’ Sansa had assumed that the said friend would be around the same age as the Tyrell matriarch, but he seemed to be even younger than Marg’s Dad.
Lady being a wolfdog and unconcerned with something as silly as good manners bounded up the steps to the neighboring terrace and butted her head into the man’s side.
“What in the seven-” he cried, turned to look down, and froze. As did the two movers.
“Oops.” Sansa bit her lower lip to stop herself from smiling and quickly followed her wayward pet. Calling out, “I’m sorry! She’s not dangerous! Never bit anyone! Come, Lady!”
Lady who had been busy sniffing their new neighbor turned to Sansa, tilted her head, and then proceeded to bound back down the steps, sitting prettily at Sansa’s feet.
“Good girl!” Sansa petted her head and smiled widely at her wolfdog before raising her eyes toward the men. “Sorry, again. She was just curious.”
“No problem, miss.” The movers dropped the rocking chair, one of them murmuring something about ‘enormous fluffballs,’ and they went into the house.
Her neighbor turned his body towards Sansa. His right arm was in a sling, tightly secured to his chest, the other one was at his hip, telegraphing his annoyance. As if the disapproving expression on his face wasn’t a clue enough. “Do keep better control of your pet.”
“Yes, well,” Sansa swallowed, uncomfortably aware that the man had the greenest eyes she had ever seen. He also seemed too pale and drawn, there were deep circles under those pretty eyes, and-
“Is there something you want, or do you plan to stand there and gawk at me the whole morning?”
“I-excuse me?” Sansa felt her spine stiffen, heat rising to her cheeks, and Lady swiveled to look at him intently. “Lady didn’t do anything to you, there’s no reason to be rude.”
“You named a wolfdog Lady?” His eyes flicked between the two of them, then he shook himself and let out a long breath. “Never mind. If you would be so kind to take your pet and yourself off my backyard and be on your way wherever it was you were running to…”
Her jaw snapped shut and she scratched Lady’s head to ease the tension in her wolfdog’s body. Lady would never bite anyone, but she was still very protective of her mistress. “Let’s go, Lady, we’ll have a nice breakfast and then we’ll go and see what’s Marg’s been up to, yes?”
With that, Sansa turned and walked the three steps to her own terrace, smirking inwardly as she let Lady inside the house. Turning toward him, she said, “Well, I wanted to ask if you needed help with anything, but I suppose I’ll just… run off somewhere. Good day, neighbor.”
Their back doors were close enough for Sansa to see a flash of irritation cross his face, and it felt her with an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach.
She had promised to help him with anything the man needed, and she had been warned that he was in an irritable mood. He even looked like he was in pain.
Sansa leaned against the door, thinking what she should do. She was used to doing her yoga routine outside in her backyard on the nice patch of fresh green grass, but she supposed her living room floor would have to do today.
There was no way she was going to do her practice in front of her neighbor, not now. She was mortified that she had let him annoy her so much, and it destroyed the good feeling about the day.
“That didn’t go well, did it?” she sighed.
*-*-*
Sansa and Lady spent the rest of the morning out, visiting Marg. Her best friend had a penchant for rich or famous boyfriends and was currently seeing a Dornish playboy named Oby. Marg also had no idea that her grandmother could have friends, let alone that Olenna was currently helping one to ‘lie low.’
“You say he’s living right next door? Have you seen him? Oh, what does he look like? Is he Grandma’s past flame? No? Why are you shaking your head? Don’t laugh, it’s serious! It’s a mystery we must solve. You must tell me everything!” And so the cross-examination started.
“Alright, alright!” Laughing, Sansa shook her head one more time, raising her hands in surrender. “I’ll tell you everything!”
“Good, otherwise I’m taking Lady as a hostage,” Margaery smirked and leaned down to make a kissing face at the wolfdog. “You’ll stay with me, won’t you, beautiful?”
“You’re welcome to keep her through the shedding season…” Sansa muttered and when Lady gave her a reproachful glare, she shrugged her shoulders. “I do love you, but the amount of dog hair is insane.”
“No, my girl is just perfect, aren’t you?” Marg wrapped her arms around Lady’s neck, receiving a sloppy kiss in return. “Anyway. Mystery neighbor. How old is he? Is he tall? Short? Is he-”
“He’s tall, broad shoulders, slender waist, strong arms,” Sansa cut in, grinning. They were lounging near the pool at the Tyrells’ house, soaking the sun and enjoying the summer heat. Sansa was, of course, covered in +50 sunscreen.
“Oh?” Margaery’s attention was captured, and she sat up straighter, watching Sansa’s face like a hawk. “Do continue.”
“Aren’t you in a relationship?” Sansa giggled and then pushed Lady toward the shade. The wolfdog lazily slunk from between their deckchairs and took refuge under the peach trees.
“I am, quite happily, thank you very much, but you are not. So, do continue about Mr. Tall Dark and Handsome.”
“I didn’t say he’s handsome,” Sansa pointed out, feeling uncomfortable with Marg’s interest in setting her up with a stranger. “And he’s blond.”
“Even better.” Her friend winked. “And you didn’t dispute his handsomeness. So, is he?”
Sansa averted her eyes for a second, feeling a blush spread over her cheeks. Damn her delicate complexion. “Y-yes, he is, but he’s too old for me to even think about that.”
“Age’s just a number.” Margaery waved her hand dismissively. “I could tell you all about the long string of lovers that my grandmother has had since Grandad died, but I know you respect her, so I’ll just say that one or two were closer to our age than hers.”
“Marg!” Sansa gasped, they looked at each other for a second and then burst out laughing. “There are some things I do not need to know about your grandmother.”
“Of course, your love life is more interesting,” Margaery agreed easily, reached for her lemonade, and took a long loud drink through a straw. “I can influence that, at least.”
“Am I just an amusement to you?” Placing her hand over her heart, Sansa opened her eyes wide and fluttered her eyelashes at her friend. She so did not want to talk about how attractive her neighbor was. “That’s it, isn’t it? I’m just your life-sized porcelain doll.”
“You are not distracting me so easily. So, your neighbor is blond, good-looking, and built impressively enough to make you googly-eyed.” Margaery summarized in a businesslike tone, lying down on her deckchair and tilting her face toward the sky. “He’s older. How much older are we talking about?”
“That’s a good question.” Sansa chewed her bottom lip and leaned back as well, squinting into the sun. “I’d say he’s slightly younger than your dad. Maybe.”
“That’s good, guys at that age still have pretty amazing stamina and know what they’re doing in bed.”
“And I feel that I need to remind you again that you have a steady boyfriend.”
“Boyfriend he is, but steady? Who knows?” Margaery winked at her but then she suddenly shot up, pushing her sunglasses down her nose and looking at Sansa intently. “Wait, you say he’s blond, around fifty, and handsome as hell? And he’s irritating enough to make people shoot at him and you, the nicest person in the universe, to get all snippy and stiff?”
Sansa had a distinct impression that her actual answer was irrelevant, so she just nodded.
“Oh, my goodness! Your neighbor is Tywin Lannister!” Margaery exclaimed and slumped back down heavily. “Well, I can’t fault you for your tastes. The Lannister men are crush-worthy. Every single one of them. But the patriarch himself? Oh, wow. That powerful stare, those green eyes… I’ve got to tell you – if you’re not going after him, maybe I will.”
“Oh?” Sansa didn’t know whether to be amused or not. It wasn’t like she liked her neighbor, was it? And she was not going to even think about what Marg had been suggesting. Her friend meant well – Sansa hadn’t dated for more than two years, ever since she had moved to Highgarden. She didn’t miss it, her life was good as it was – she had her friends, her dog, regular calls with three of her siblings, her career was finally picking up with her first big exhibition coming soon.
She was content, happy even.
“Don’t give me that look, I’m not going to steal your cranky old man,” Margaery sniggered and flashed her a winning smile. “Now, that you’ve admitted that you’re interested, we need to come up with a seduction plan-”
“I did not admit anything. I don’t need a plan. For what? I don’t plan on seducing him,” Sansa said slowly, looking intently at her friend. Then she looked down at her hands, fingers interview tightly as unwelcome memories resurfaced. “I couldn’t do that to anyone. You know it’s not me. I would never do that.”
“Oh! I’m sorry, Sansa darling!” Marg went to sit next to her, giving her a firm half-hug, pressing her cheek to Sansa’s. “Poor choice of words. It’s not like we know if he’d be even interested in return, right? Tywin Lannister, seven hells, that man’s got a reputation.”
Sansa returned the hug, trying to push the image of her neighbor away. Her first and only meeting with the man who was notoriously known – at least to Marg – was leaving a lot to be desired. She didn’t know him and there was no saying she would get to know him to actually like him.
“If I ask you to tell me about him, will you do that without going all crazy with your matchmaking plans?” she asked her friend tentatively.
“Of course, let me think… Grandmother really is friends with him… as much as two curt, sarcastic, and scheming people could be. If you like my grandmother, you’re going to like him as well, I suppose.” Marg gave her a small smile and moved to sit back on her deckchair, picking up her glass but not drinking. “He’s the AG in King’s Landing, so no wonder someone went and shot at him. Granddad and the late Mr. Lannister were great friends, so Grandma’s known Tywin since he was a child. I think she likes him better than Dad, she’s always admired quick mind and sharp tongue.”
Sansa could easily imagine her neighbor dominating a courtroom effortlessly – and snipping at Olenna adeptly.
Marg then talked about how their families knew each other, about Tywin’s children, especially his two gorgeous sons, on whom she had had crushes throughout her childhood and teenage years. Sansa’s heart went out to the poor man as she listened to parts of Marg’s story and the rest of the morning passed quickly.
She dropped Lady back home, noticing that the movers were already gone but there was no sign of life coming from Tywin Lannister’s house.
Her afternoon was spent at work. Sansa enjoyed her job behind the bar of the nicest and coziest coffee shop in the whole city. The afternoon shifts were especially good and passed quickly with various performances starting around 6 p.m.
One of the regular performers was called Pod and he had the sweetest voice Sansa had ever heard. He reminded her of Jon so much it sometimes hurt, especially when Pod would hang around the coffee shop, just talking with her and anyone who happened to be around as well in that uncertain, shy way of his. It was very sweet, and it only added to the warm and content feeling Sansa felt whenever they talked.
She got home late in the evening and was unexpectedly cheered by the fact that the lights in the neighboring house were on. She couldn’t help but wonder if Tywin had any trouble with his arm and decided that she would check on him in the morning. She had not only promised Olenna that she would, but it was also a decent thing to do. Everyone had a right to be irritable occasionally, especially while in pain and away from anything they liked or knew for their safety.
*-*-*
Sansa had just woken up when she heard the first knock. Lady sat up, her ears twitching, and then she was flying out of the bedroom and down the starts silently. If she was not barking, it meant that the person knocking was someone whom Lady considered either safe or even friendly.
She followed the wolfdog and then opened the front door, suppressing a yawn. Immediately after that, she did a double-take and became painfully aware that she was standing there only in an oversized t-shirt that proclaimed, ‘Kiss me,’ and her knickers with little winged hearts. Thankfully, the t-shirt reached her mid-thighs, so no heart was on display.
Her neighbor was standing on the other side of the door, looking too tall and too broad-shouldered to fit through the doorframe, in sleeping shorts and with a deep red dressing gown slung over his shoulders. His face was even paler than yesterday, his jaw clenched tightly, and his tired eyes were watching her warily.
“Good morning,” he said. His voice was just a deep rumble this early in the morning that turned Sansa’s brain to goo. The fact that she was hard-pressed to keep her eyes locked on his face and not on his bare chest that was right there, exactly at her eye level, was probably not helping. That short blond hair looked so fine and would it be as soft as it loo-
Blushing furiously, Sansa snapped her eyes back to his face and squeaked out, “Good morning.”
She had the opportunity to watch as her neighbor’s eyes moved up toward her face as well. He, however, didn’t blush and didn’t seem to be embarrassed at all that he had been appreciating her bare legs. His expression remained the same, but his gaze wasn’t as guarded. He seemed even amused for the briefest of moments.
Lady decided that the awkwardness had been going on long enough and nuzzled his leg in greeting, letting out a soft whine, before she sat down between them. As she patiently waited for a pat from the man, her wagging tail was hitting Sansa’s toenails.
“Good morning to you as well, Lady,” he rumbled and reached out to scratch the wolfdog behind one of the ears. His eyes softened further and when he raised them to Sansa once more, she was forcefully reminded of the fact that her neighbor was an attractive man, indeed.
“I came to apologize for my behavior yesterday morning,” he said, looking distinctly unapologetic. “You caught me at a bad time. Would it be possible to start over? I’m… Ty.”
That same hand that had been petting Lady rose and Sansa grasped it awkwardly – it was his left one, of course, his right arm was stiffly resting against his side – and shook it. “It’s nice to meet you, Ty. I’m Sansa. Is there anything I can help you with this early on a Saturday morning…?”
He released her hand and Sansa hoped the question came out much less suggestive than it had sounded echoing in her malfunctioning brain.
“Yes, well,” he said, clearing his throat. “It seems my arm is bleeding, probably torn my stitches. Olenna was kind enough to point me to your doorstep. As I understand it, she has asked you to assist me if need be.”
Olenna Tyrell and kind had problems existing in the same sentence. It was more likely that the old lady had bluntly told him off and bullied him into apologizing. It would fit both their characters rather well – if Tywin had really torn his stitches and his wound was bleeding, he hardly had a choice. It’s not like he could drive himself to a hospital and if he was indeed lying low, calling attention to himself was a bad idea.
“Please come in,” Sansa said, stepping aside and mentally steeling herself that she was going to have to look at his arm, which meant that he was going to take off that dressing gown. “Make yourself at home, I’ll just get the first-aid kit.”
Sansa also changed into a pair of shorts and put on a bra as she was retrieving the needed items. She found Tywin sitting at her kitchen table bathed in the early morning sunshine. He was contently petting Lady who sat next to his chair with her head in his lap and her eyes closed.
“I see you two are getting along,” Sansa said, smiling brightly. If Lady liked him, he was a decent man. “She doesn’t let just anyone do that.”
“She is rather persistent. Doesn’t take no for an answer.”
“Yes, who could say no to those beautiful eyes,” Sansa chuckled and placed the kit on the table, turning away from him to wash her hands. “Uhm, I’ll need you to take the dressing gown off.”
Tywin grimaced and swept the fabric off his shoulders with his uninjured hand, placing it over his lap. Lady let out a huff in disapproval and moved to the living room where she plopped on the couch.
Oh, dear gods. The man was now clad only in his sleeping shorts, looking relatively relaxed and completely at home at her kitchen table. Sansa didn’t want to ogle him, no, so she focused on the dried red patch on the bandages that had been carefully wrapped around his right upper arm.
“When did this happen?”
Tywin snapped his eyes to her and after a second of consideration said, “Yesterday evening. I had a slight problem with removing my shirt.”
“Well,” Sansa bit her lip and averted her eyes, reaching to loosen the bandages. She felt guilty – she should have checked on him last night. He had been awake when she had arrived home and had needed assistance. “The wound needs to be cleaned and re-dressed regularly and I’ll need to check it for signs of infection as well.”
“That sounds reasonable.” He nodded and turned to watch as Sansa unwrapped his arm. The bandages were stuck together by his dried blood, and the wound itself started bleeding slightly when she removed the last layer. Both grimaced and Sansa leaned closer to inspect it. The bullet grazed his upper arm, not damaging the muscle too much but leaving behind a reasonably long and deep wound. His mobility shouldn’t be affected at all, though, and he was going to be right as rain, as Olenna had said.
“Good news is, the stitches hold,” she said cheerfully, avoiding further eye contact. “Bad news is, I’ll have to clean it. It’s going to sting.”
She moved her chair closer, carefully avoiding looking anywhere she wasn’t supposed to look. She was so close that she could feel the heat emanating from his body and the intimacy of the situation was distracting. Her hands trembled a little as she pressed the gauze against the wound, swallowing hard.
Tywin’s skin was warm to the touch, the hair on his chest and arms the same golden blond as the hair on his head and even the morning stubble on his face. He was well-built and fitter than many men half his age, smelling cleanly of soap and toothpaste. The rise and fall of his shoulders as he breathed and as his chest expanded with each of those breaths, was testing Sansa’s resolve not to let her eyes stray. She could feel his gaze locked intently at her face and flaming cheeks.
“How frequently do you need to check for infection?” he asked when she finished cleaning the wound. Sansa carefully washed her hands again and started to wrap bandages around his arm, thinking over her answer.
“I could check the wound and redress it every morning and every night, also making sure you don’t tear the stitches by accident when you… Uhm… run into slight problems with your shirt. If that’s not… too presumptuous?”
“You think I’m incapable of undressing myself without assistance?” His eyes narrowed briefly and then he shrugged his shoulders slightly. “I’d be insulted if it wasn’t true, as the dried blood on the bandages proves. It pains me more to admit it than the actual bleeding did, of course, but you are right.”
Sansa was so shocked by his words that she looked right into his eyes. In the sunlight, they were brighter, livelier, the green was flecked with glittering specks of gold, and they were surprisingly warm as they flicked over her face.
“I… have to say I expected more resistance.”
“I’m not entirely unreasonable,” he said and then, something shifted in those eyes as they strayed down to the writing on her t-shirt. “Or perhaps I just want to lure you into my bedroom, Sansa.”
Another jolt of shock ran through her body, and she searched his eyes for any sign of mockery. She found none, just the same warm glow. At that moment, she realized that she could very easily fall for her handsome older neighbor if he looked at her like that – like she was the prettiest girl he had ever seen. It was dangerous. He was dangerous and damn Margaery for putting those thoughts in her head in the first place.
“Is that so?” Sansa grazed the bare skin of his shoulder with the nail of her little finger, seemingly by accident. His reaction – tilting his head slightly to the side and watching her through half-lidded eyes – encouraged her to continue. “Though I’m sorry to inform you that any vigorous activities and heavy lifting are out of the question for you. In or out of the bedroom.”
Tywin sat up straighter and regarded her in silence for a second. The look in his eyes turned predatory and one corner of his lips curled upward. “For now.”
Sansa held his gaze for as long as she could, realizing that there was barely a palm’s width between their faces, their mouths. What would feel like to kiss that smirk off his lips? With that thought, her head tilted fractionally closer, Tywin’s head mirroring the gesture and his eyes flicking down to look at her parted lips briefly.
She had never been this close to wanting a kiss a man she hardly knew. That was the much-needed sobering thought – Sansa did not know him – and she promptly scooted the chair back, rising to her feet.
“How about I whip up some breakfast, Ty?” she asked cheerfully, “Do you want to get dressed first, though?”
“I feel perfectly comfy.” He stayed sitting at the table, leaning back slightly. “Unless you are uncomfortable? You are not… bothered, are you?”
Sansa blinked and then blinked again. His smug expression remained firmly fixed on his face and he even smiled, as if he was inviting Sansa to take a closer look. Well, two could play that game, so Sansa gathered her courage and let her eyes wander across the planes of his chest and stomach, and even his legs were nicely muscled.
How hard it could be? Getting to know him so she wouldn’t feel uncomfortable thinking about kissing him? Because right now, Sansa wished she could climb him like a tree.
When she finally raised her eyes and their gazes locked, the heat in his made her shiver, filling her stomach with butterflies of anticipation, and her veins with blazing fire. She remembered how she had felt yesterday and congratulated herself for being right.
Things had changed, and they had taken an exciting turn.