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“I hate these kids…,” Sandor grumbled angrily as he knelt down to pick up a piece of trash that some spoiled brat tossed to the ground. He picked it up and threw it into the trashcan for the type of trash it is, right next to where it was on the ground.You would think these children would have been taught some manners, Sandor thought angrily, especially since they come from the kinds of families where you would expect them to have some manners.Sandor looked at his watch and sighed. There was still several more hours until he could go home. Home, he thought bitterly. If you could actually call the shabby flat I live in with my dog a home.At least he had a roof over his head. Plus, this flat was the best he could afford, with both the small pension he receives from the Army, and the payment he gets here.He had applied to several different jobs after he had recovered from his injuries, but this job as a janitor was the only one he was ever offered. And that was only because his former comrade, Bronn, was a friend of Tyrion Lannister, the son of the headmaster, Tywin Lannister.The private King’s Landing international boarding school was one of the most expensive places to send your children to prepare them for life.Founded by some buggering king hundreds of years ago, which Sandor still forgets the name of, even after all these years of working here, the school was still one of the most elite private schools in the United Kingdom. With Tywin Lannister at the helm, the school became even more elite.The Lannisters were one of the oldest noble families of the British Isles. They had acquired their immense wealth by exploiting nearly every single gold mine in the Colonies during the Golden Age of the British Empire.Today, the Lannister Investment Group was one of the most successful companies in the Finance District of London. After Tywin Lannister had stepped down as CEO, his eldest son, Jaime Lannister, had taken his place. Bronn had once told Sandor that Tyrion had estranged himself from his family when he married his childhood sweetheart. Bronn showed him pictures of the wedding and he thought that this Tysha looked like a nice woman. Apparently, Tyrion was now working as an independent investor in London.Sandor, himself, came from a small Scottish village located in the Speyside. His family had a small distillery and Hound’s Whiskey was once a relatively popular brand in certain parts of the United States. Unfortunately, the prohibition forced his great grandfather to shut the distillery down. His great grandfather then fought in the war and nearly died during the Battle of Caen, only to return to his wife a broken man.When Sandor was six, his father left, leaving behind a wife and three children. Seeing as his mother worked as a teacher in the larger city next to theirs, she wasn’t around enough to see how his older brother, Gregor, tormented him and his younger sister, Elysa, nearly every day.Sandor didn’t blame his mother, of course. After all, she had done everything that she could to provide a safe and secure childhood for her three children. Despite her best efforts, though, Gregor was always known for his violent, aggressive behavior, and so it was only a matter of time before the police brought him home, for the first time, one evening. Not wanting to be like their elder brother, Sandor and Elysa worked extremely hard to try making something out of themselves. His sister wanted to become a ballet dancer and even dreamt of one day becoming a dancer in a large ensemble in London, or on the continent.Unfortunately, though, her ballet school was in the next city over from theirs, but Sandor would always pick her up in the family car after her classes. One time, though, Sandor had been too ill to leave his bed, and so their mother had asked Gregor to pick Elysa up, instead. By the end of that same day, Gregor and Elysa were both dead.Sandor still felt guilty about Elysa’s death; even all of these years after the car crash that claimed her life. He had been eighteen at the time of her death, and she, herself, had just turned fifteen. His mother wasn’t the same after their deaths, either, and she died just a few short years later. The very next day after his sister’s funeral, Sandor joined the Army. Shortly after his enlistment, he successfully completed his Special Forces training.As is the case with Sandor’s luck, though, after his years of training, he had been wounded during his very first mission. Obviously, he had survived, of course; but, he had been unable to return to active service. Instead, he had been medically discharged with nothing more to show for his years of service except a medal and a small pension.I’ve gone from being a member of one of the most decorated Special Forces units in the world, to a damn janitor, he bitterly thought. Sandor never thought his life would turn out this way.He walked down the corridors of the school and checked to make sure everything was as it should be. Luckily, money was of little consequence to the Lannisters, so the school was fully equipped with the best, state of the art everything it could possibly need. That meant he didn’t have to repair things very often; in fact, most of the time, he simply had to empty trashcans.He’d often spend the rest of his workday in the small room that served as his ‘office,’ just waiting for the time he could go home to his dog. He had found Stranger as young pup bound to a light post, and had taken him in as his own. He’s basically been his only friend, ever since; aside from Bronn, who lived with his girlfriend, Lollys, in Wales.Classes had just ended for the school day and pupils now filled the corridors. Thanks to the doctors, only a few scars were still visible on the side of his face, from his injuries; but they were still visible enough to attract strange glances from nearly everyone—especially the students. Over the years, he had learned to ignore the snickering of the children behind his back, even if he knew what they called him. He had once found a letter on the windshield of his car calling him Frankenstein’s Monster.Sandor had nearly reached his room when he saw the auburn braid in front of him. Sansa Stark, without a doubt.Sansa Stark, and her siblings, had enrolled at the school a year after he had started working there. They had been one of the few foreign students from the Continent. Her older brother had finished school two years ago. Sandor had never given the Stark children much attention, though he had always seen them as ones he could actually tolerate the most. While they had never been particularly friendly to him, they had not exactly been brats, either. Sansa’s younger sister, though, had gotten an expulsion from the school after she got into a brawl with Tywin Lannister’s grandchild; who just so happened to be Sansa Stark’s boyfriend, at that time.Sandor had no idea what the fight had been about. The older Stark girl had an easier time finding friends at King’s Landing than her siblings, and she had quickly found a group of friends to pal around with. He had casually noticed Sansa hanging out with Myranda Royce and Margaery Tyrell quite often; due to her beauty, it didn’t take very long for the first bunch of rich boys to catch sight of her.The first guy had been Harrold Hardyng; one of the school’s best polo players in the history of King’s Landing. He was also quite easily one of the most arrogant people Sandor had ever met in his entire life, as well. Their relationship hadn’t lasted very long, but shortly after their break-up, she quickly became the girlfriend of Joffrey Baratheon, Tywin Lannister’s grandson. Sandor thought her a romantic fool if she couldn’t see how they really were.Sandor hated that prick; and his friends. He knew that Joffrey was considered untouchable by everyone, since his family basically owned the school, and all. The boy’s father was married to Tywin Lannister’s daughter; so, basically, he could do whatever he wanted.He was the only student, aside from foreign students, who were allowed to live on their own in the nearby town outside of school.Sandor had never bothered much with all of the student drama—be it, if Mr. Baratheon’s math test had been too hard, or that Mrs. Mordane’s teaching style was boring. He cared about the student romances, and all of the drama that came with it, least of all. Although, he could hardly ignore the drama that arose when Joffrey had broken up with Sansa Stark one sunny Monday, a few months ago. Later that same day, Arya Stark had broken the boy’s nose, and only hours after that, she had been expelled from school.After that, Sandor had always seen Sansa walking alone throughout the corridors. Her siblings were gone, and even her friends had left her, seeing as only a few weeks later Joffrey and Harry were seen together with Sansa Stark’s former group of friends. Furthermore, it didn’t take all that long until Sandor began overhearing the first of many nasty rumors about the Stark girl spreading through the student populous like wildfire.Sandor knew all too well that it was Joffrey, and his cronies, who spread these rumors, as Sandor refused to believe anything he ever heard about the Stark girl. The kind and friendly Sansa Stark, who could always be seen as happy, with a small smile on her lips, and a light sparkling in her blue eyes.While Sandor refused to believe these rumors, the other students did, and wasted no time in snickering about the Stark girl. And Joffrey only made it worse by openly bullying the girl, anytime he saw her.All of the teachers turned a blind eye to Joffrey’s behavior, as no one wanted to lose their job for turning on their boss’s grandchild. In fact, only the math teacher, Stannis Baratheon, his uncle, had ever spoken up against Joffrey; since then, Joffrey had at least stopped his bullying whenever his uncle was with eyesight or earshot.At first, the bullying hadn’t seemed to affect Sansa Stark at all; but over the months, Sandor could clearly see how it ate her up on the inside. She was still kind to everyone, of course, but she no longer walked the school corridors with a smile on her face, and her eyes only ever held sadness in them, now.As he reached his office, Sandor unlocked the door. He heard Joffrey’s cronies laughing at the end of the corridor where he had just seen Sansa, moments ago.“Give it back, Joffrey!” Sansa yelled at him. He held one of her books in his hands.“Why should I? Does it have any meaning to you?” he mocked her and held it out of her reach every time she tried to grab it, making both Ramsay Bolton and his evil girlfriend, Myranda, laugh.Sandor was pretty sure that the only reason why Ramsay was allowed in the school was because his father was the history teacher.“Please give it back, Joffrey,” Sansa pleaded and tried to quickly grab it, again.Joffrey just tossed it in the air, and the very moment Sansa looked up at it, Myranda shoved her making her fall to the ground and scattering all of her other books, as well.Joffrey, and the others laughed cruelly, not wasting a second thought on her as they left her on the ground and walked away, mocking the yelp Sansa made from her fall.Sandor walked over to where she was cowering on the ground, trying to collect her things, with trembling hands.Sandor knelt down next to her. “Hey, can I help you?” he asked kindly. The Stark girl’s head quickly whipped around, her expression clearly indicated that she hadn’t noticed his presence, nor expected any help, at all.Tears were welled in her deep blue eyes.“Yes, thank you,” she said and continued to collect her books. Sandor handed her the few books he collected and found the book Joffrey had taken that started it all.“Oh, no he tore it,” the Stark girl cried, once she saw that the spine of the book had been torn. Sandor could tell that she was really shaken up by that. The last time he had to comfort a young girl had been his little sister after she had fallen off of her bicycle and scratched her knee.“There, there,” he tried to calm her a little. “It’s not that bad. I think I can repair it.” “Really?” she said with huge pleading eyes.“Aye, it’s just a little tear,” he said. “Come, you look like you could use a cup of tea; or do you have other plans?”The Stark girl hesitated for a moment, probably considering the alternative to going with him to his office for a cup of tea. The alternative was to go to the cafeteria, alone, while eating lunch, alone, and hearing even more snickering about her.“A cup of tea sounds lovely, thank you,” she said and forced a tiny smile on her lips as she got up with her books in her arms and her backpack slung over her shoulder.Sandor opened the door to his office and let Sansa enter first.His room was simple. A shelf where he stored all of his tools and equipment, with an attached workbench next to a sink. A small table, with two simple chairs, and a cupboard with an old TV. There was an electric kettle sitting next to it. It wasn’t much, but it was sufficient enough to spend his endless hours of doing nothing; until some rich brat broke something all because it didn’t cost him anything, that is.“Have a seat. Make yourself comfy,” he told her as he filled the kettle and prepared two cups with a teabag, each.Sandor watched her from the corner of the eye as she took her seat and smoothed out the green skirt of her school uniform. She even made sure to correct her silver green striped tie.Aside from that, she simply sat in silence while the water started to boil. Instead, her eyes travelled about the room.“I hope Earl Grey is alright?” he asked to break the silence.“Yes; yes, thank you,” she said and wringed her hands.Once the water was boiled, Sandor filled the cups. While the tea steeped, he took a look at Sansa’s damaged book. “It looks worse than it is,” he rasped, examining the book’s spine. “A bit of glue and it’ll be as good as new.”“Really? I feared for the worse,” she said, relieved. “It was a gift from my father; I got it the last time I was home.”“You miss home, don’t you?” Sandor asked and tried to sound as warm as possible. He had never missed home after he had joined the Army. He had missed his sister and his mother, but never his home.She gave him a tiny nod for an answer as he glued the damaged parts of the book back together. He then put the book into the bench vise and sat down at the table. He handed her the steaming cup of tea and she held it between her slender fingers.“I am sorry that I have no milk or sugar,” Sandor said, but she interrupted him. “Please, do not worry; I am fine,” she said. “And please, call me Sansa. I, unfortunately, only know of the nicknames other students have for you,” she said and blushed lightly. She looks even more beautiful when she blushes, he thought.“I know I have several nicknames on campus, but my real name is Sandor. Sandor Clegane.” “Thanks for the tea, Sandor,” she said after a small sip. “No problem, Sansa. You just really looked like you could use it.”She only slightly nodded, taking another sip. It seemed to Sandor as if she was even sadder than she usually was these last few months.He had no idea what the issue was, but it hurt him to see her like this.“Has something happened?” he asked carefully, and Sansa looked up.“What makes you think something happened?” she asked in a whisper. “And, why would you care? Nobody cares about what’s going on with me, here.” The bitterness clearly hung in her voice. Something that Sandor understood all too well. “Look,” Sandor started carefully, “we might not have spoken more three words in all of the years you have been going here, but I remember seeing how you were back then. Always smiling. The happiness in your eyes. I saw you losing that these last few months. I am not blind to what’s been happening. I see how all of the other students snicker behind your back, and how Joffrey, and his cronies, bully you. And today, it feels as if the dark cloud that has been hanging over your head is a bit darker.”Sansa put her cup down and was wringing her hands in her lap. Sandor felt that he was on the right track.He really couldn’t believe he was actually able to speak to her that way. Before his therapy with Doctor Ray, he had been driven by hate and guilt. Doctor Ray had been the psychologist assigned to treat his PTSD. He had helped him see that his life still held value.“Do you want to tell me what’s making your day even darker than usual?” he asked as kindly as he could.“My dog,” she began. “Lady. We were walking this morning, and some asshole hit her with his car, and drove off.”“Fuck…Is she…?”“No, she wasn’t killed. I rushed to the vet before school, and they’re taking care of her right now,” she sobbed and the tears were now flowing freely. “The vet said I might have to consider putting her down if there are no signs of her recovering overnight.”“How are her chances?” Sandor asked, warmly.“I don’t know. The vet said he would call if he knew something.”“I see. I hope your dog will be alright. I have a dog, myself, so I feel for you,” he said and Sansa nodded wiping away the tears on her cheek with her thumbs. The bell rung signaling the end of lunchbreak.“I should go,” Sansa said. “Not before you finish your tea,” he said and Sansa continued to drink her cup.Sandor got her the book out of the bench vise. He nodded, satisfied with the outcome, and handed it to Sansa.“Wow, you can’t tell that it was ever even torn,” she said in awe. “Thank you so much!”“You’re welcome.”Sansa had finished her tea and got up to leave for her next classes and Sandor showed her out.“Sansa,” he said just as she went to leave. She turned around. “I know you don’t know me very well, but should the worst case scenario happen regarding your dog…” he said, having no idea how to actually say what he was meaning. “I just wanted to say that I could accompany you; so you don’t have to go through it alone, I mean.”She seemed to be taken aback that someone actually offered her help for once. “Thank you, Sandor. I truly mean it. This is the greatest kindness that has been shown to me for such a long time,” she said and smiled in earnest at him. “It really means so much to me.”Some students passed by his office, giving them strange glances. Sandor gave them a warning look which quickly had them speeding along. “I should go before I am late for Mr. Baelish’s class. Thank you again for fixing my book, and for the tea. It really was what I needed today,” she said with a tiny smile on her lips.“You’re welcome. Now, off with you, before you‘re late for class.”Sansa nodded and quickly walked down the hallway to where her next class was located. Sandor watched after her and hoped that she would look back; at least once.She did. Smiling.
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This may have been the worst night of Sansa’s life. For hours, she had waited for a call from the vet to give her any updates on Lady’s status, only to be told in the end, that they would call her in the morning.She hadn’t slept much that night. The fear that she might lose her only friend here ran just way too deep. After Joffrey, she had considered telling her parents that she wanted to leave the school. They would have said it was a foolish decision to leave during her last year, and they would have been right.If she had known back then how bad the aftermath of her relationship with Joffrey would become, she might have done it.Arya hadn’t told their parents any details about why she had beat up Joffrey, just like she had promised Sansa. She didn’t want her parents to be involved in it. If her father knew about the reasons why her and Joff’s relationship had ended, and about the nasty lies that were told about her in school, it would make everything worse.At least Arya found a boyfriend, Gendry, who treated her the way she deserved. He was an exchange student from England, and since Arya had just returned from there, she had been told by her new principle Mr. Hagar to take care of him, and make him feel comfortable.Arya had taken that advice to heart, obviously, Sansa thought, amused, as she filled the water kettle and put two slices of bread in the toaster.Her thoughts drifted off to Sandor Clegane and the kindness he had shown her yesterday. She had never really paid much attention to him before. She had sometimes seen him between her classes, repairing stuff or cleaning the floors. At first, she had been a little scared of him when she began school.After all, he had never smiled before and always looked like he was angry. So, it had been even more surprising when he had offered to repair her book yesterday. He had actually been kind to me, she thought as she made her morning tea. He seemed to care about her wellbeing. While Sansa ate her lemon jam toast, the vet called.Sansa had feared for the worse and answered the call with shaking hands. Luckily, her worst fears had quickly gone away when the vet told her that Lady was going to be fine. She would still need some time before she could play in the park, but she would live.Sansa finished her small breakfast before she rode the few miles to school on her bicycle to be on time for Mr. Varys’ political science class.
***
After lunch, she was on her way to her last class of the day. Two hours of math with Mr. Baratheon. Mr. Baratheon was the younger brother of her father’s friend, so Sansa knew Stannis since she was basically a child. That doesn’t mean, though, that she had it any easier in his classes. He was as strict to her as he was to everyone else, but he always graded fair and just.One of the worse kept secrets, though, was his relationship with the ethics and religion teacher of King’s Landing, Mrs. Melisandre, and how she had seen his ‘mighty burning sword.’Stannis’ own daughter, Shireen, partook in an exchange program to Germany and was lucky enough to get a place at Bran’s school.“Oh, well would you look who it is,” she heard Joffrey say. Sansa hadn’t noticed his presence until now.“Not in the mood for your shit today, Joffrey,” she said and continued walking as if nothing happened.He grabbed her by the arm and yanked her around.“You look at me when I talk to you, bitch!” “She doesn’t have to do anything, you little shit,” she heard Sandor spit, causing Joffrey to let go of her arm once he saw Sandor appearing.“Don’t think this is over just because you have a guard dog, now,” Joffrey spat at her before leaving.Sansa watched Joffrey walk away before turning to Sandor.“It seems I have to thank you, again,” she said.“No need to thank me, as always.”“Lady is going to make it. She only has a few broken bones and a concussion. I was going to pick her up after school, and I wanted to ask if you might want to join me?”Sandor looked surprised.“Yeah, sure. After school, you said?”“Yes, I still have math and then I wanted to go.”“Alright. Do you have a car, or how are going to get there?”“No, I was going to walk. It’s not that far from my flat.”“You can ride with me, if you like. It looks like rain outside,” Sandor said.“If it doesn’t mean extra trouble for you?”“No, don’t worry.”“Alright, see you after math class.”
***
Sansa met Sandor at the parking lot.The two hours of Mr. Baratheon’s talking about functions and integral calculus seemed like the longest two hours of her life.Sandor was already waiting by his car. She had expected him to drive a huge truck, but instead, he had a small car.“Hey, how was class?” he asked as she came closer.“As always,” she answered and got into the car after Sandor opened the door for her. Sansa gave him the address of the vet.“Oh, I have been there before when Stranger got his balls cut off,” he said before starting to drive.They mostly drove in silence only with light chatter, and Sansa used the time to check her Tumblr blog. Several friends had reacted to her post about Lady, asking if she was going to be alright.Luckily, Sansa could tell them that everything was going to be fine. During the last months, her friends on Tumblr had often been the only thing to keep her sane after all the bullshit in school.Sansa had to chuckle when she saw the post of one of her friends on Tumblr.“What’s funny, Sansa?” he asked chuckling.“Oh, just something my friend Madk posted on her blog. It’s pretty funny,” Sansa told him.“What is your blog about?” he asked.Sansa hesitated to tell him. Joffrey and Harry had only laughed at her and her blog, telling her it was stupid and nerdy.“You know, just things I like. Books, movies, some TV series…” she said without giving away details.“Cool,” he said and Sansa couldn’t hear any judging or teasing in his voice.As they reached the vet, all the formalities were handled rather quickly, luckily.Sansa buried her nose in Lady’s fur and was incredible happy to have her friend back. She felt happy tears run down her face that Lady licked away with her rough tongue.Sansa placed Lady on a soft blanket on the backseat of Sandor’s car, before they drove to her place.“She’s a pretty dog,” Sandor said.“Yes, she is; and kind and friendly,” Sansa added.“Just like her mistress,” he said and Sansa felt herself blush at his words, because they didn’t sound fake to her ears.As they reached her place, he carried Lady to her door for her.Lady seemed to like Sandor. She had always growled at Joffrey when he was around, she thought.“So, here is where you live,” Sandor said as she unlocked the door.“Yes. Me and my sister, before…well, you know. Robb lived here, too, but only for a year until he was finished with school.”There was a moment of silence between them.“Thank you, again, for driving and coming with me today, Sandor,” she said, biting her lip.“No problem, Sansa. You can always ask me for help, if you need it,” he said as he handed her Lady, who whined a little at leaving his arms.“Alright, see you tomorrow in school, then,” he said, and for a moment she though as if he meant to kiss her.“Yes,” she breathed. And then the moment was gone.He turned to leave, and Sansa watched him drive away. A part of her strangely wished for a kiss from him.
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It had been an annoying day, so far. As soon as Sandor entered the school this morning, Mr. Lannister told him about a clogged toilet that had set the Boys’ Bathroom to flood.Of course, it hadn’t been an accident. Somebody flushed a whole pack of toilet paper down the toilet.He had a suspicion who it might have been, but without proof, he had no chance to blame Joffrey and his cronies.Not that it would make any difference. With his grandfather as head of school, he was untouchable, anyway.He had spent the whole morning cleaning up the mess, and then repairing the damage; unfortunately, though, it would still be days until the smell would be gone.If I am lucky, it’ll be gone over the weekend, else I’ll have to get creative to rid the smell.It was late afternoon, and soon he could go home. Sandor had just stored away his tools, again, when somebody knocked softly on his door.He opened the door and looked onto Sansa’s pretty face.“Sansa, what are you doing here?” he asked and looked around for any trouble that might have brought her to his door.“I just wanted to ask,” she started, “if you maybe—but only if you want to and have time, that is—if you maybe want to have tea with me? As a thank you for what you have done for me these last few days. I’ll pay, of course. You don’t have to say yes; I just thought you might want to…,” she chattered, wringing her hands together, nervously. Sandor chuckled at the sight.“Yes, I would like to have tea with you, Sansa,” he said.“Really? I mean, that’s great! Is after school okay; or is tomorrow better for you?”“Today is alright, Sansa. I’ll meet you at my car after your last class, if that’s alright?”“Yes, yes that would be perfect! I know a little café where they serve excellent tea and lemon cakes,” Sansa said brightly, smiling.“Sounds great. See you then.”
***
Sandor couldn’t wait for Sansa to walk out of the main door of the school. He walked around impatiently where his car was parked and always shot glances at the door, hoping to see auburn hair coming his direction.He had no idea why he was so nervous. “Hey, Sandor, sorry I am late; Mr. Qyburn added a few minutes to our class time, due to somebody disturbing class all the time,” she said.“Don’t worry about it,” he rasped, warmly, and opened the car door for her.Sandor followed her directions, and soon they arrived at a small café with the name ‘Hotpie’s’ in large letters above the door.They entered the café and were alone, for the most part, aside from some old man reading the newspaper by the window.“Hey, Sansa,” the young barista behind the counter said, smiling up at seeing her. “It’s been a long time since you’ve honored me with your presence.”“I know and I’m sorry. I just wasn’t really in the mood for it,” Sansa said and Sandor could hear that she tried to avoid any further explanation.“How’s Joffrey?” the barista asked, finishing the order for the old man.“We broke up,” Sansa said plainly.“Oh, I am sorry. You seemed so happy.”“Trust me,” Sansa said, “it’s better this way. Could you please bring us a can of tea and two lemon cakes?”“Right away, Sansa. The lemon cakes are fresh from the oven, by the way,” he said and Sansa’s eyes lit up a little.They took seat at a table in the far corner of the café. Sansa shyly smiled at him and it warmed his heart to see her smiling after being sad for so long.“The lemon cakes here are the best! They make them fresh, every day,” Sansa told him.“So you like lemons?” he asked.“I looove them,” she said, and added emphasis on the ‘love’ to make her point. “I like lemons in my tea, and lemonade; but lemon cakes are my all-time favorite! There were times, when I would come here every day just to get my share of them.”“What made you stop,” he asked, curious.“Joffrey,” she said, silently, looking down to her lap.“Sorry, I didn’t intend to remind you of that prick,” he rasped, softly, and Sansa nodded as their can of tea arrived with two cups, followed by two lemon cakes.“Thank you,” Sansa said kindly to the barista. “For you darling, always!”Sandor poured them each a cup of tea, which made him remember the time before he had visited Dr. Ray; when he would have pulled his flask out to spice up the tea with a bit of Scotch.Sandor took a bite from his lemon cake and Sansa asked him how he liked it.“Just perfect Sansa. The best cake I ate in a long time.”“So,” Sansa started after taking a sip from her cup, “you helped me out a lot lately, and I still don’t know anything about you.”“There is not much to say, I am afraid,” he said, honestly.“I would still love to hear about your life, Sandor. I really would,” she said smiling warmly at him, like nobody had in a very long time.“Alright then, but I can promise you it won’t be the happiest story,” he warned, but Sansa said she wanted to hear it, anyway.She listened with an attention he had only ever received from Dr. Ray as he told her about his childhood, his parents, siblings, and the reason he ultimately joined the army.She told him how sorry she was about his sister’s early death. When he told her about his first, and only, mission in Afghanistan, she told him about her brother Jon. She said he was, in truth, her cousin, but he grew up with them because his mother died during birth and his father was unknown to them.Apparently, he was thought to have been a soldier, and so Sansa told him that Jon joined the Army, himself, to become an officer.During his deployment, he had met his current girlfriend, Ygritte, a Canadian soldier. After his period of service, he had decided to live with Ygritte in Canada.Sandor told her about his being wounded and how he got dismissed from the Army.“What about your other siblings?” Sandor asked her. “Arya, is doing fine in her new school. We often Skype to stay in touch,” she said.“And your brother than finished school before you?”“Robb. Oh, he is doing fine as well, though my parents aren’t happy about what he is doing,” she said.“Oh, what is he doing?” Sandor asked, curious, pouring them each another cup of the new tea they had ordered while Sandor had spoken of his family.“He met a gold-digging cunt, Talisa, during his first semester at University. And now, he is talking about marrying the bitch! Even though it’s clear to everyone that she is only after the money his share of the family company gives him. And now, he is jet setting with her all over the world; making shopping trips in every city they visit,” she told him, clearly annoyed.“What is your family business?”She looked surprised at him.“You’ve really never heard of Stark Winter Gear?” she asked, teasing. Suddenly, though, it was clear to Sandor.“Of course, I have. During my training in artic environments, we had equipment from that company. A wolf, showing its teeth as its trademark, right?”“Yes, that’s my family’s company. It was founded by my grandfather, Rickard, after the First World War near our original family seat, Winterfell, near old Königsberg. After the Second World War, it was newly founded in Western Germany,” she told him, modestly.Sandor has known that her family must be rich. After all, you only went to King’s Landing if money wasn’t an problem. Although, he hadn’t expected her to be a part of the family who owned the largest company for the best professional winter sport, industry, and military equipment in the world. He was honestly impressed that she seemed so down to earth, even if money could easily buy her entry to any, and every, door on this planet.“So, your family has a rich history, I guess,” he said.“You could certainly say so. We had large lands in East Prussia and were well known in the Nobility of Europe,” she said.“Does that mean, you are a real princess?” he asked smirking and Sansa laughed lightly, blushing.“No, but there is still some noble blood in me, I guess,” she joked.“I might have to start calling you My Lady, then,” he said with a raised eyebrow.“No, Sansa will do,” she said chuckling, before taking another sip of her tea.Sandor and Sansa talked for hours about themselves, and life itself, until the barista told them they would soon be closing.Sandor then drove her home, and during their entire ride, he noticed that Sansa would give him tiny smiles.He parked his car in front of Sansa’s flat, but nobody dared to say ‘goodbye,’ first.“That was nice, Sansa,” Sandor said as he finally broke the growing silence between them.“Yes, it was,” she said and smiled at him. “We could repeat this in the future, if you’d like?”Sandor saw her nervously biting her bottom lip.“Aye, I would like that, actually,” he said and her eyes lit up at his words.“I am so happy to hear that,” she said, excited. “Well, I will see you tomorrow in school, then?”“Aye, until tomorrow.”Sansa got out of his car, and as she walked to her door, Sandor felt a strange fluttering in his chest that he hadn’t felt in a long time.
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Weeks had passed since they had spent the afternoon at Hot Pie’s, and it hadn’t been their only time at the café.Sansa and Sandor had spent several afternoons there over the next several weeks and found that they had become friends during their many conversations.They also started to see each other during their lunch breaks, as well. Sansa would hurriedly eat her lunch in the cafeteria, as always, before she headed to Sandor’s office. He would usually have a pot of tea already awaiting her arrival.It was Friday, and Sansa had just finished her Biology exam in Mr. Qyburn’s class. The exam hadn’t been particularly hard since Genetics was one of her strong areas. Still, Sansa had studied quite a lot over the last few days to ensure she would get a good grade. She was convinced that she would do well on it, unlike many other students who would always underestimate just how difficult Mr. Qyburn’s exams could be.Sansa was among one of the first students to finish the exam, so she could begin her lunch break a bit earlier than usual.As she entered the cafeteria, Sansa quickly checked her phone for messages.She then checked over the menu items that were available. Not seeing anything that interested her, though, she decided against eating lunch; instead, she simply grabbed a couple of pastries.Before heading to Sandor’s office, though, she quickly spared a few moments to answer a message her Bavarian friend from Tumblr sent, asking how her exam went. Sansa had gotten to know this friend a few months ago while reading a Game of Thrones’ fanfiction about her favorite pairing. She was a smart and pretty young woman, and loved their favorite pairing just as much as Sansa did. Finally, Sansa entered Sandor’s office and immediately saw him preparing their tea.“You’re early today,” he said, filling the electric kettle.“I finished my exam early,” Sansa explained as she sat down.“It go okay?”“I believe so, yes. Mr. Qyburn’s exams are hard, no doubt; but, if you prepare and study hard enough, then you can usually get a good grade fairly easily.”Sansa’s phone chimed and she saw that Madk had sent her a new post that made her smile.“Aww! That’s so sweet,” she muttered which caused Sandor to frown a bit in curiosity. His frown prompted Sansa to hold out her phone to him, showing him a photo of an artwork.“Am I supposed to know who they are?” “Well, have you ever seen Game of Thrones?”“Is that that strange fantasy series everyone’s always on about? I only watched the trailer once…,” he said as he poured them each a cup of tea.Sansa couldn’t believe her ears! Game of Thrones was only the best show on earth, after all! Not to mention how the A Song of Ice and Fire novels that the series was based upon had given her life. And of course, she absolutely couldn’t forget about all of the fanfiction that was born from them, either!“You are kidding me, aren’t you? You really mean to tell me that you have never seen Game of Thrones?” Sansa asked, flabbergasted.“No, I haven’t.” Sansa was shocked.“I am sorry, Sandor, but I simply cannot let you go on living without having seen Game of Thrones, at least once,” she said smirking. “Have you anything planned tonight?”“Not yet,” he said, curious.“Okay, good,” she said, smiling. “Tonight. Six o´clock. My place. I’ll cook, and you bring the beer. Blu-Ray marathon… what do you say?”“I say… that sounds great.” Sansa felt her heart beating a little bit faster with the way he smiled at her.
***
Once school let out, Sansa quickly picked up a few groceries on her way home, before she took Lady on her evening walk.Sandor once mentioned how he liked most of the ways that chicken could be prepared, so Sansa thought to cook some chicken with rice for the two of them, and hoped he would like it.Even though this wasn’t an actual date, it was still the closest thing she’s come to one in a very long time; so, she wanted to make sure that everything was absolutely perfect.Thankfully, after cooking their meal, Sansa still had enough time to take a quick shower before Sandor was due to arrive.She was dressed in a simple pair of pants and a sweater, and as the doorbell rang, her hair was still a little damp.When she answered the door, Sandor was there on her threshold; a six-pack of beer in one hand, and a bag of something else in his other.Sansa marveled at how incredible he looked wearing an old pair of dark jeans and a thin, steel-grey, t-shirt that revealed a small patch of black chest hair from the unfastened top button. She knew that Sandor was well built, of course; but this outfit clearly showed just how muscular he truly was.“Hey,” he said as he held the bag and the beer up. “I brought beer and some lemon cakes.”“Oh, how nice of you,” she said with a smile as she took them from his hands.Sandor entered, closed the door behind him, and looked around her living room where her TV was waiting. Lady simply laid on a pillow in front of it and looked up at him. “You have a nice place,” he said as he petted Lady. Sansa walked to the kitchen and put the beer in the fridge and dished the lemon cakes onto a serving dish.They are from Hotpie’s, Sansa thought as she smiled. He must have gone out of his way just to buy these! “I hope you are hungry,” Sansa said as Sandor entered her kitchen.“I am, and it’s already smelling delicious.”“I really hope you’ll like it; I made chicken with rice.”Sansa could tell that he was a bit surprised she cooked one of his favorite meals. As she prepared their plates, Sandor filled Lady’s bowl with kibble and set it down on the floor for her.Sansa popped first Blu-Ray disc in the player before they both sat on the couch.“Alright, Sandor; prepare yourself to enter the best fantasy world that there is,” she said with a smile as she pressed ‘play’ on her remote. “Now, things might be a bit… overwhelming… for a first time watcher; so, feel free to ask if anything is unclear,” she says to which Sandor nodded his understanding.
***
They spent the entire evening watching the show and Sandor seemed to be fully engrossed by the series.Sansa wasn’t surprised when she had to explain a few things to him, seeing as he wasn’t aware of the series’ backstory, and all.Over the course of the first few episodes, Sansa had slowly inched herself closer and closer to him until she could finally lay her head against his shoulder. He tensed at first, but after a few short moments, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders—hesitantly, at first, but as she snuggled into him, he seemed to become much more comfortable with her close proximity.It felt so good to be held by him, like that. Joffrey had never held her that way; and Harry had only ever done so to allow his hands the opportunity to wander.They were now watching the final episode of season one, and the Northern lord had just lost his head on the steps of the Great Sept of Baelor, right in front of his eldest daughter.“Wow, they really killed him,” Sandor said, surprised. He took a sip of his beer.“You really didn’t see that coming, did you?” Sansa asked with a smile. Most people don’t.“Absolutely not,” he said, making her chuckle. “I truly thought that someone would save him, surely. Maybe even that huge scarred dude—especially seeing as how he has a crush on that little redhead, and all; the lord’s eldest daughter.”“Oh, so you noticed that, too?” Sansa asked, pleasantly surprised.“Of course, I noticed! He seems to be a decent enough man; even if he does look scary,” he reflected. “With the way he kept the little bird from shoving fuckface off of the battlements, ultimately saving her… now, look at that and tell me that he doesn’t care for her?”“You are so right, Sandor. And in the books, it’s even more obvious.” “Are they together in the books at some point?” “Not yet… but I, and many of my friends, truly believe that it will happen in the end,” she said, to which he nodded. “You see…,” she began, nervous and hoped he wouldn’t laugh at her, “this is what I do on my blog; post and discuss things, such as this, with my friends.”Sansa never once told Joffrey what she did on Tumblr… after all, he had already laughed at her just from even mentioning owning a blog. “That’s really nice, Sansa.” She was so pleased that she couldn’t hear any sarcasm in his rough voice. “You really think so?” “Of course. It’s always nice to commit yourself to something with all of your heart like that,” he said, and Sansa couldn’t help but smile widely at his words.They watched the rest of the episode in silence, and when the credits started to roll, she turned to him. “So, what do you think?” “I really like it, so far. You know, that Northern Lord’s eldest daughter actually reminds me of you, a bit,” he said, at which she smiled; that is one of her favorite characters, after all.“So, you would like continue on with season two?” Sansa asked, hopeful.“Sure; but, sadly, not tonight. It’s already late; plus, I still have to tend to Stranger when I get home.” Even though she hoped he could stay, it definitely pleased Sansa that he actually sounded a bit remorseful that he had to leave.Sandor helped her carry the dirty dishes to the kitchen and thanked her for the delicious dinner, which caused Sansa to blush lightly at the compliment.As they walked to the door, the night’s cold air greeted them.“You know, you could always just bring Stranger with you the next time you come; that way, you wouldn’t have to leave,” she offered as she nervously bit her lip.“Would you want that?” Sansa could feel his warm breath on her face and her heart raced once their eyes met. He must have sensed what she wanted, though, because he carefully leaned forward. She thought that her heart would stop once his lips softly touched hers for a brief moment.“Yes,” she breathed as his lips left hers, and she smiled shyly at him. When he said that he would like that, as well, she truly thought she would faint right there, in her doorway!“Good night, little bird,” he said, and kissed her cheek.“Good night, Sandor,” she breathed, sounding a bit dreamy. She then watched as he got into his car to drive home.As she closed her door, she smiled widely, feeling happier than she ever has before.
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Sansa felt as though she were on Cloud Nine the entire weekend! She couldn’t stop thinking about Friday night, and how Sandor’s lips had felt against hers.Their kiss had felt unlike any kiss she had ever experienced before.Joffrey’s had been wet and sloppy, whereas Harry’s had always been too demanding and forced—as if he felt it were a chore he had to do, and hated it.Sandor’s kiss had felt gentle, though… gentle and perfect!Our entire evening together had been perfect, Sansa thought with a smile. To be snuggled up against his form on the couch, watching her favorite series together, had easily been one of the most exciting moments she’s had in such a long time. And then, when he had put his arm around her, Sansa’s heart had nearly burst right out of her chest!Sansa had thought often about Sandor and their friendship these last few weeks. She had already believed him to be the most decent man that she had met in quite a while, and Friday had only proven her right.Any other man would have probably tried talking her into letting them stay over or would have tried making out the entire time they watched the show; but Sandor hadn’t done anything like that. He remained a perfect gentleman the entire evening.Sansa had just finished her laundry when her weekly Skype call with Arya rang.She had promised Arya that she would Skype with her at least once a week after she had been expelled for beating up Joffrey once she heard what he had done to Sansa.“Hey,” Sansa answered the call as her younger sister’s face appeared on her laptop’s screen.“Hey, sis.” Arya looked really good. She wore her hair a little longer now, and she, somehow, managed to convince their father into allowing her to get her nose pierced.“How’s it going, Sansa?”“Good. I finished my last exam of the year this last Friday.”“Not in school, Sansa. How’re things going in general?”“Good,” Sansa said, biting her lip.“You’re seeing someone, aren’t you?” Arya asked with a smirk as she folded her arms across her chest. Her sister had always been able to read her like an open book.“Maybe…,” Sansa said. She felt her face blush slightly.“Who is it this time?”“Why do you want to know?”“Well, let’s just say that you have a history of… bad choices… regarding men,” she said with a smirk. “Now, tell me who it is, so I’ll know whether I need to start saving my money for airfare to beat the bastard up for you, or not.”Sansa couldn’t help but laugh at the mental image of Arya trying to beat up Sandor.“It would be quite the sight watching you attempt to beat Sandor up.”“Sandor?” Arya asked with a surprised expression on her face. “As in… Sandor Clegane? That huge grim dude that’s the janitor at your school.”“Um… yes,” Sansa said a little awkwardly.“Is this some sort of a joke, Sansa?”“No, Arya, it’s not a joke. And he isn’t nearly as grim as we once thought he was, either. Honestly, he is the nicest man I’ve ever met.”“And just how close are you two?”“Not as close as I would like us to be,” Sansa said with a sigh.“Why him, though? He’s just so… completely opposite of you,” Arya said, gesturing with her hands to make her point.“Arya, you’ll just need to trust me on this. He might very well be ‘the one.’ Just like Gendry is for you.”“Okay, Sansa, I’ll trust you with this; but you’ll be sure to tell me everything that happens, though, won’t you? I don’t ever want to see you as heartbroken as you were after Joffrey, understand?”“I promise, Arya,” Sansa said. “Speaking of Gendry. How are you two doing?”“We’re still doing great. Mum likes him, and Dad says he reminds him of young Uncle Robert.”“That’s not all that hard to believe, actually,” Sansa said and chuckled. “How are Mum and Dad? And how are the others?”“Bran and Rickon are fine, but God Sansa… there’s just so much damn drama lately.”“Why? What’s happened?” Sansa asked, curious.“Robb’s gone and knocked Talisa up,” Arya confessed as Sansa’s mouth fell agape.“No fucking way,” Sansa said, flabbergasted. “What did Mum say? Dad?”“Dad is pissed! Even more so than when he heard that I had gotten expelled. He says that Robb can’t possibly know if Talisa is ‘the one,’ and also that he is too damn young to become a father.”“And Mum…well, I guess she is kind of happy with knowing she’ll soon be a grandmother. We both know how much she would like to see us married and giving her grandchildren, after all. But, since we both live in the 21st Century, that won’t be happening any time soon. Oh, but wait… things get even better!”“What?” Sansa asked, though she knew she probably wouldn’t want to hear the answer.“Mother told Robb how unhappy she was that they didn’t wait until they were married to start a family, and so Robb and Talisa secretly married that very same evening!”“That bloody idiot…!” Sansa said as she shook her head in disbelief. “Is he really too damn blind to see how that Talisa bitch is only after his money?”“I’m guessing she must be very… convincing… in the bedroom,” Arya said with a smirk.“Ah, stop! I do not want to think about that,” Sansa said and feigned disgust, which made Arya laugh. “But yes… it does seem as if our dear elder brother only thinks with his cock.”“Hey, Sansa, I got to go; Gendry is coming over soon and Mum’s forcing me to tidy my room up and make my bed, beforehand,” Arya said as she rolled her eyes. “Why should I make my bed, though, when it’ll just be messy again once he’s here,” she added with a smirk.“Don’t let Mum hear you, else she’ll give you one of her famous lessons on proper behavior that befits a lady.”“Don’t worry, no one can hear us through my closed, locked door, or else I’m fairly certain they’d have already said something about me riding my bull,” she said and winked. Sansa’s face heated up a little at her sister’s words.Arya had always been rather frank when it came to talking about private matters like that; it had always felt a little awkward for Sansa, though.“Okay, Sansa, I really do have to go, now. I’ll be sure to tell everyone ‘hello’ for you, and you be sure to tell me if this Sandor turns out to be another dickhead, alright?”“Sure, sis; I will. We’ll talk next week; love you.”“Love you, too,” Arya said before the Skype window closed.***The next week felt longer than it really was, but Sansa just couldn’t wait for Friday to come. Sandor had agreed that they would try to watch the second, and maybe even the third, season of Game of Thrones.And, even more important was that Sandor had agreed to bring Stranger with him meaning he wouldn’t have to leave that evening.Sandor was more than curious about the relationship of ‘the little bird and the scarred dude,’ as he liked to call them.Sansa had explained everything she knew about ‘the unkiss’ in the books and pretty much every other theory about the two characters, as well. She had also told him of how countless people sincerely believed them to be the endgame… at least in the books, that is. Although, Sansa does have a friend from Texas who would completely disagree with these beliefs, seeing as how she tends to pair the girl with men that are old enough to be her father.Sansa was not sure how deep Sandor’s feelings for her were, but they were certainly deep enough for him to both kiss her and to agree with staying overnight with her. She couldn’t really determine whether Sandor desired her as much as she did him yet, or not; but this ‘Blu-Ray date,’ as Sansa mentally called it, would most definitely let her know.When Sandor arrived on Friday evening, they both walked their dogs together, first, and then decided to pick up a couple of pizzas on their way back to her place.Sansa couldn’t help but slightly laugh when Sandor had asked for extra meat on his pizza.“The dogs seem to get along great, together,” Sandor said as they watched Lady and Stranger walking peacefully side-by-side once they were on their way back to Sansa’s place.The two canines had jumped around each other in excitement after Sandor and Stranger had first arrived at her home earlier that evening.As soon as they were all four back at her place, Sandor and Sansa made themselves comfortable on the couch.Sansa laid her head on Sandor’s shoulder while they began to watch the second season of the show and ate their pizza. Meanwhile, Stranger and Lady were sprawled out on Lady’s bed in front of the TV after they had wolfed down their own supper.“…You’ll be glad of the hateful things I do someday when you’re Queen and I’m all that stands between you and your beloved King…,” sounded from the TV and Sandor chuckled to himself.“What?” Sansa asked, curious.“I believe that may be the closest thing to an actual ‘I love you’ that she could hope to hear from a man such as him,” Sandor said and Sansa couldn’t help but agree with him.At some point during the show, Sandor wrapped his arm around her shoulders, again, and Sansa felt his fingers slowly stroke over her arm. She snuggled a bit closer into him and felt his warm breath against her hair as he laid his head against hers.Sansa smiled to herself the entire time they watched the show, and now she has found herself straddling his lap with no recollection of how she even ended up on top of him like this, in the first place!She held his face with both of her hands as she placed one slow, sensual kiss after another onto his lips. Sansa could feel the healed scars from his war wounds beneath her palms and fingertips as his own warm hands caressed her back, through her shirt.The theme of the BluRay’s main menu played in the background for no telling how long—ever since the last episode on the disc had ended, no doubt. Neither of them made any effort to get up and put the next disc in, though.Up until now, Sansa had only ever followed her former boyfriends’ lead with intimacy. She had never attempted to make the first move, herself, to show what she wanted. This time, though, things were going to be different.Her heart raced like mad when she got off of his lap and grabbed his hand. Sansa just pulled him towards her bedroom as Stranger and Lady barely even lifted their heads off of the dog bed—neither dogs looked all too concerned with what their masters were going to be doing.
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Sandor’s heart had nearly burst from out of his chest as he followed Sansa. He hadn’t been with anyone since before Ros. And she had left him while he was in a military hospital after he returned home from being injured during his first deployment.He honestly couldn’t believe how far he had actually made it with Sansa, seeing as he usually managed to fuck things up with women. Sansa opened the door to her bedroom and turned around to kiss him, again. The way her soft lips felt against his was intoxicating.She wove their fingers together and led him into her bedroom. When she turned the light on, Sandor saw a few plush animals on her bed. Next to the lamp on her nightstand were her schoolbooks.Everything felt too good to be true, and Sandor had a hard time believing that he wasn’t in a dream.As Sansa pulled his face back down to hers, her tongue lightly brushed against his lips before they deepened their kiss.“Don’t you want to get rid of this?” she asked with a smile and gently tugged on his shirt. Sandor’s mouth was so dry from the shock of her request that he couldn’t even say anything—he merely got rid of his shirt as she suggested.He noticed how Sansa blushed when she stroked her hands over his chest and bit her lower lip.Sansa then got rid of her own shirt, revealing her white lacey bra. His jeans were already uncomfortably tight, so when she flung her arms around his neck and pulled him down onto her bed with her, he felt like his cock would burst.Her sweet scent surrounded him as he kissed along her jawline, down towards her décolleté.“God, Sandor…,” she purred and stroked with her fingers through his hair.Sandor lifted his eyes and saw her smirking at him.As they both got rid of their pants, Sandor was harder than he had ever been upon seeing Sansa in nothing but her lace panties and matching bra.“There are no words to describe how truly beautiful you are, Sansa,” Sandor somehow managed to say.Sansa blushed even more as she started to kiss him again after he had laid down on the bed, next to her.As Sandor let his hands carefully travel over her body, he gently caressed every inch and curve of her.He kissed a path down her milky white throat, her creamy ample chest, and her smooth taut stomach; but when he reached the top edge of her panties, he looked up to her face and saw her nervousness written as clear as day in her eyes.“What is it Sansa?” he asked a little concerned.“It’s nothing,” she said quickly. “Go on; I want you.”He crawled up to her face and caressed her cheek with his finger.“What is it Sansa? I won’t go on until I know what’s on your mind,” he said as softly as his rough voice allowed.“It’s nothing, really. It’s just… I’ve never done it before…,” she whispered and lightly blushed, again.Sandor frowned. Even though he knew that most of the rumors he had heard about Sansa were false, he still found it a bit hard to believe that she was still a virgin.“Really?”“Are you disappointed, now? That I am not the experienced slut everyone thinks I am?”“But the rumors…” he began before Sansa interrupted him.“They were exactly that, Sandor; purely rumors. But, it seems as if you believed them, too,” she said and he could clearly hear how hurt she was by that.“No, Sansa, I didn’t believe them. I didn’t know you back then as I do now, so I didn’t allow myself to fully believe them.”“But, you heard of them, though,” she said. “It seems that Joffrey really outdid himself with spreading them. I thought, with you, at least, that I might be able to get by with not being constantly reminded of the rumors; seems like I was wrong, though.”Sandor’s heart clenched when a soft sob escaped her.“There, there,” he awkwardly said. “I don’t believe any of those rumors, Sansa. You are the kindest person I’ve ever met, and I have absolutely no idea why anyone should spread such horrible rumors about you.”“Because I was naïve, and Joffrey took advantage of that,” she whispered.“That fucker,” he rasped angrily as he carefully pulled her closer to his chest. Sansa gave in and completely snuggled up close to him when he pulled the blanket around them. “What happened between you two?”“It’s complicated, and I don’t want to bore you with it.”“Nothing you could say would ever bore me, Sansa. You’ll feel better after you’ve spoken about it; I know that from my own experiences.”“I was a stupid girl and believed that I loved him.”“Whom? Joffrey?”“No, Harry. I told you, it’s complicated, but it all started with Harry; even though it was all Joffrey’s idea.”“What do you mean?”“Harry was Joffrey’s wingman, if you know what I mean. So, everything Harry did in our relationship was just meant to drive me into Joffrey’s arms. All of the sweet words he said to win my heart, and, ultimately, his cheating on me with my friend, Myranda,” she said, sounding hurt and angry at having been played in such a manner.“How did you find out?” Sandor carefully asked as he stroked over her arm.“Joffrey told me when he broke up with me, after…”“After what, Sansa?” he gently asked.“After he wanted me to sleep with him. I wasn’t ready yet, but he constantly tried talking me into it; saying that if I really loved him, then I would do it. I was stupid though, and thought myself to be truly in love with him. After all, he was the ‘handsome prince’ who was nice to me after Harry’s betrayal. Plus, I already knew him for quite some time, seeing as how our fathers are childhood friends. So, I agreed,” Sansa said as she sighed.“However, since I wasn’t really ready for it, I ended up deciding that I didn’t want to go through with it, after all; right as we were about to do it. Joffrey pretended to be understanding, of course; though he still convinced me to suck his cock as ‘compensation.’ And, seeing as how stupid I was, I felt as though I at least own him that much.”With every word Sansa had said, Sandor felt himself becoming angrier and angrier at that blond asshole. Sansa seemed to be able to feel the anger that stewed within him, too.“You see, I was stupid and he took advantage of that.”“But, that still doesn’t explain why he spread the rumors, in the first place, though; nor why he and his buggering friends still continue to bully you.”“He only does it to hide his own pathetic performance from that evening. I had just wrapped my hand around his cock when he came all over me. He was so embarrassed that he said it was my fault for being ‘too stupid to even suck off a man properly.’ He then added, that had he known just how ‘boring’ and ‘time consuming’ being the first guy to fuck me would have been, that he’d have not even bothered wasting any of his time on me, in the first place; he’d have allowed Harry to fuck me, instead. After that, he sent home; forced me to walk back to the flat I shared with my sister in the dead of night, heartbroken and crying.”“Those buggering fuckers,” Sandor said in a low growl. He wasn’t sure if he would be able to contain his ire when he saw either Joffrey or Harry this next week. “And that’s when you told your sister?”“Yes; I had to tell someone. I mean… couldn’t have told my parents. My mother had never liked Joffrey, anyway. In fact, she only gave in and accepted me dating him to allow me the opportunity to attend King’s Landing; and that was only after I begged and pleaded with my mother and father. I only wanted to come here so that I could be close to Joffrey. Father would have been furious had he found out, and would have demanded Joffrey’s father do something; but with Joffrey’s mother being the daughter of the principle, it would have only caused more trouble. Anyway, Arya found me crying in my room that same night, so I told her everything. The very next morning, she went straight to Joffrey and broke his nose in three places. She was promptly expelled merely hours later. I had never been prouder to have Arya as my sister than that very moment.”“And after that, Joffrey started the rumors to cover all of this…,” Sandor concluded.“Yes; he branded me as slut who not only fucked both Harry and Joffrey, but one who was also cheating on them with any and every boy I found,” Sansa sighed.“You were right, Sandor. I do feel better now that you know everything,” she said and kissed his cheek.“Earlier, when we were about to…you know,” she quietly started as she blushed. “I really do want you to be my first and… and maybe even my only. It just seems as if I’m still not completely ready, yet. Are you mad at me?”“No, Sansa, I could never be mad at you for something like that. I want you, too, little bird; but we will wait until you feel ready for it—no matter how long it takes.”“I love you, Sandor,” Sansa quietly said.“What?” he asked, surprised. Sansa seemed to be equally surprised that those words had escaped her.“I think I just said ‘I love you.’ You are truly the most decent man I’ve met so far, and I hardly believe that there could be anyone else like you out there. So, yes… I love you.”She looked at him with big blue eyes and Sandor felt his emotions take control of his tongue.“I think I love you, too, Sansa. You are smart and kind, you have a great sense of humor, and I honestly can’t imagine one single day without wanting to hear your sweet voice,” he said as he leaned in to kiss her.“Does that mean we are together?” Sansa asked. “Like, really together?”“I don’t know,” Sandor said. “Would you want that?”“Yes; I would like that, very much. We will have to be careful, though, so that our relationship doesn’t become known to the entire school. I only have half a year left, and I don’t want to spend it surrounded by new rumors. I hope you understand,” she said stroking over his chest.“Yes, little bird. I understand, perfectly; we will make it work, my love.”Sansa’s face lit up at his words.“Thank you, Sandor. I love you,” she said kissed his cheek.Since they had no need to break their closeness, they quietly watched a bit of TV as they slowly drifted off to sleep; the two of them happily snuggled up together.
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Sandor dreamt again. It was always the same dream though. And it was more a nightmare rather than a pleasant dream.He always found himself with his old unit in the mountains north of Kunduz, looking for signs of insurgent’s activities, which had been reported by locals. He still could hear Sgt. Thoros making rude jokes, while Lt. Dondarrion told him to shut his mouth, just before they came under fire. His friend Brad got hit immediately screaming for a medic, while everybody else ran to the next cover, while bullets flew past his head. Again, he could hear Dondarrion’s order to return fire and the rock of his assault rifle against his shoulder every time he pulled the trigger of his assault rifle, aiming through his optic sight at the barely visible shapes a few hundred meters awayThe enemy fire forced him to spring to the next cover when whole world turned into a chaos of fire, dust and pain. He couldn’t move and heard Dondarrion yell over comms that they had been hit by an IED and needed immediate fire support and medivac. Even in his dream he felt the blood run down his face, while Bronn dragged him back into cover, telling him over and over again that he would be alright.Sandor remembered the enemy fire became more intense with every meter the insurgents came closer to their position. He barely remembered Dondarrion giving the fire support the coordinates. But the clearly remembered the distant thundering of the German armored howitzer back in the camp of Kunduz and the sudden thunderstorm, as one grenade after another made the earth shake with their detonations, forcing the insurgents to ultimately retreat just as the medivac arrived with two attack helicopters to cover their evacuation.After that his dream consisted of short moments of consciousness he had during the flight back to camp, before waking up sweaty and disoriented.This time it had happened again. It took him a moment to realize where he was. He was back from his deployment. He was safe and next to him stirred Sansa, from him suddenly sitting up.“Sandor…,” Sansa said sleep drunken rubbing her eye with her hand. “What is it?”“Nothing Sansa, just a dream,” he said and laid back onto the pillows looking at Sansa. He still couldn’t really believe it. They were together and she loved him as he loved her.“It was that dream again, wasn’t it?” Sansa asked and nuzzled his neck. He had told her of the day he got his injury. He had left out the details since they were still classified, but he had opened up to her as much as he had only managed before with doctor Ray.“Yes, but now the dream is over and I am back with you,” he said and kissed the crown of her hair.“Yes, you are. I love you Sandor.”“I love you too little bird. I am glad I have you.”“I am glad that I have you too. You can’t imagine how glad I am,” she said in honest and her words warmed his heart. His stomach growled and Sansa chuckled.“I think it’s time for breakfast,” she said smiling and got out of bed after giving him another peck.
***
During the next couple of weeks Sansa looked happier than she had for months. She was actually smiling during the day and the snickering of the other students didn’t seem to bother her anymore as far as Sandor could notice.They had been careful not to reveal their relation to anyone. They didn’t talk when they met in the corridors and didn’t have any public display of affection. She still came to his room every lunch break and nobody seemed to notice. In these precious times, they made up for the lack of affection they showed each other in public.Even Joffrey and his cronies didn’t seem to get to Sansa anymore. Joffrey still tried his casual bullying, but Sansa didn’t care about it anymore. Sandor was proud and happy that Sansa could finally smile again. She even gave Joffrey some witty remarks when he tried to bully her for things like her hair color.While Sandor enjoyed to see Sansa get her confidence back on her own, he also secretly was concerned that Joffrey might got suspicious about what had made her change this way, after he had done everything for months to break her spirit.Sandor’s concerns were confirmed on a Friday as he waited for Sansa outside the door of his room. He clearly heard Joffrey’s voice down the hall, followed by a crowd laughing and Sandor went to investigate what was going on.He saw that a lot of students stood around Sansa, who looked annoyed, and Joffrey surrounded by his cronies. “Ohh look who arrived,” Joffrey declared cheering when he spotted him. “The latest addition to the slut’s endless lists of cocks.”The crowd was howling and snickering. Fuck, Sandor thought. Now Sansa has exactly what she tried to prevent.She still had more than a half year ahead in King’s Landing international boarding school and he wouldn’t be mad at her if she wouldn’t stand by him in public.“Is it nice to be the slut of a dirty janitor bitch?” Joffrey asked with a cruel smirk and if he hadn’t promised Sansa to not harm Joffrey, he would already be begging for mercy.Much to his surprise Sansa didn’t deny her relationship to him.“Much better than it ever was with you,” Sansa said and the crowd became quiet, obviously not expecting her to suddenly speak up against him. “And he lasts more than three seconds unlike you and your tiny wiener.”The crowd started to howl louder than ever before and Joffrey’s face became fire red, unable to come up with a retort, while Sansa didn’t give him a second glance as she made her way through the crowd of students to him, greeting him with a kiss on his cheek, before linking her arm with his leading him to the exit.As they reached his car she simply said that she wanted to pick up Lady and then get to his place.During the whole drive, Sandor couldn’t believe what had just played out right in front of his eyes.Sandor unlocked the door to his small apartment and Lady ran in to meet her friend. Before they followed Sansa's dog, she pulled him down for a kiss and when their lips departed she whispered only three words.“I am ready.”
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Sansa couldn’t care less what her fellow students thought of her. Most of them already saw them her as slut thanks to Joffrey's rumors. She only had half a year left and then she wouldn’t see any of them again anyway.So when Joffrey thought he could shame her with the relationship she had with Sandor he had been wrong. She wasn’t ashamed of Sandor and him ´only´ being a janitor. What did it matter what he did for a living as long as his character was right? Sansa certainly didn’t care what he did for a living. She loved him and he loved her and that was all that mattered.Let them snigger behind our backs and call us strange or whatever they want, Sansa thought as she had led Sandor away from the crowd. All that mattered were he and her.And damn, it had felt good to shame Joffrey in public. Sansa couldn’t wait to tell Arya about it. She was sure her sister would be cracking up over that.After they had left the school and were on their way to pick up Lady, Sansa couldn’t think of anything else, but how much she wanted Sandor at this very moment. She wanted to feel him. She wanted him to worship every inch of her.When they had reached his place, she pulled his face to hers, after Lady had ran into his apartment to find Stranger.“I am ready,” she said and she felt from deep inside that she really was ready this time.“You sure?” Sandor gently asked her and it warmed Sansa’s heart that even now he wouldn’t just jump at the chance to sleep with her, but wanted truly to make sure that she was ready for this step.“Yes, Sandor, I want to. I love you and I trust you that you will always be gentle with me,” she said smiling warmly at him.“I always will Sansa. You are everything to me. You are my little bird.”“Then show me the way, Sandor,” she said biting her lip a little.They had never been at Sandor’s place before, because he didn’t own a Blu-ray player to continue their habit of watching Game of Thrones together.Sandor’s apartment was simple but cozy. Unlike Joffrey's apartment everything was cleaned up and in order.As they reached his bedroom, Sandor started with gentle kisses alongside her jawline down her throat, before his fingers found the tie of her uniform and got swiftly rid of it. Sansa tugged on Sandor’s shirt and he got rid of it revealing his well build torso. Kissing, they stumbled their way over to the edge of his bed while they both got rid of their shoes and Sandor unbuckled his belt and let his jeans fall down to the floor, leaving him only with his boxers on.The visible bulge clearly indicated Sansa that he wanted her as much as she wanted him.Sansa lay on the edge of the bed and she had her arms flung around his neck, while they continued to exchange kisses. “I love you Sandor,” Sansa breathed and started to slowly unbutton her blouse. Her panties were already soaked with her juices and she pressed her thighs together to get rid of the throbbing that was pulsing through her lady bits.“I love you too,” Sandor breathed against her skin. Sansa got rid of her bra and Sandor started to caress both of her breasts with kisses, lightly kneading them with his large palms. Soft moans escaped her lips when the rougher hair of his beard scratched over her stiff nipples.“Sandor please,” she moaned stroking through his hair and his hand wandered under skirt. She felt shivers of excitement run down her spine, when he stroked the bare skin between the top of her socks and panties.“Allow me?”, he asked in a husked voice and Sansa nodded.She felt his hands lightly tug on her panties and Sansa lifted her bum to allow him to pull them off.While they had slept several times in her bed together, Sandor had yet to see her completely naked.“Do you trust me?” Sandor asked her and Sansa nodded again. He pushed her skirt up a little and kissed the inside of her thighs towards the neat patch of auburn hair covering her mound.His tongue slowly traveled alongside the silky skin of her folds and Sansa’s breath hitched at the small pulses of pleasure that were sent through her body.Sansa arched her back when Sandor’s tongue started to flicker over her clit and she felt her peak build up inside of her.“Ohh my god…ohh my…” she managed to stammer just before her mind went blank and waves of pleasure flooded through her body.Sansa rode out her peak and Sandor kissed the inside of her thighs until she came back to her senses, feeling him unzipping her skirt and getting rid of her socks.She blushed lightly at the realization that he now saw her completely bare for the first time. “You are a remarkable beauty Sansa,” Sandor said. Sansa smiled back at him.“Are you on the pill?” Sandor asked and Sansa cursed herself inwardly that she had forgotten to think about protection.Sansa shook her head and hoped she hadn’t ruined the moment.“No problem I always got something with me. Just in case,” Sandor said and pulled a condom wrapper out of his wallet.Sandor got rid of his boxers and Sansa saw that his cock was indeed larger than Joffrey's. She held eye contact with him as he put on the condom.Sansa pulled him down for another kiss and she felt his cock brush against her soaked folds.Now it’s going to happen , she thought excited and nervous all the same. She had no idea what to expect. Would it hurt, like it was often mentioned in the fanfictions she loved so much? Would it be pure bliss like it had been for Arya with Gendry?She felt his cock at her entrance and she tensed a little in anticipation. Sandor must have sensed it since he kissed her several times before he told her warmly to relax.Sansa flung one arm around his neck and pulled him down for another kiss as she slowly felt him push his cock between her folds into her core.There was a tiny moment that felt uncomfortable, when she hadn’t been relaxed enough, but the feel of his lips on hers and his tongue brushing against hers made her relax completely, allowing him to enter her complete.It was a foreign feeling, but not uncomfortable. He slowly started to grind against her and she soon met his movement.Sansa’s moans filled the room and Sandor buried his face in the crook of her neck while he thrusted with a steady pace Sansa was comfortable with.This feels perfect, Sansa thought, burying her nails in Sandor’s shoulder shortly before she reached the edge of her next orgasm.Sansa felt his heavy hot breath at her ear and only a short time after she heard him groan her name against her ear as he found his own completion.She was completely spent but happy. Sansa smiled to herself while stroking over Sandor’s warm back, thinking to herself that this was just as perfect as she could hope for.Sandor rolled off her and he held an arm out to her to snuggle up to him, which she of course immediately did.“That was perfect Sandor. Thank you,” she said and rubbed her cheek against his skin.“No need to thank me Sansa,” He rasped. “I should be the one to thank you instead.”Sansa chuckled a little.“You don’t have to thank me either. It still was incredible.”“Yes, it was little bird.”“I don’t want to leave the bed today anymore, not after all the shit in school today,” she said pouting a little.“Then don’t. I go with the dogs and get pizza on the way back. Then we stay in bed, eat pizza, watch tv and love us again if we want to. What do you think?” he asked her before kissing her forehead.“Sounds great, my love,” she said sleepy and Sandor chuckled leaving the bed.Sansa must have fallen asleep quickly, because she woke up to Lady licking her face with Sandor standing next to the bed with two boxes of pizza spreading delicious smell in the whole apartment.Sansa put on one of Sandor’s shirts as he got back into bed and they spend the rest of the day eating pizza, while watching tv.Sansa’s head lay on his shoulder and it was the most perfect moment she could imagine.
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Sansa woke up at the feeling of his calm breathing against her hair. She smiled to herself at the memory of yesterday’s evening.She snuggled closer against Sandor’s chest and she heard him rasp a still sleep drunken ´good morning´.“Good morning,” Sansa said still smiling and turned around to face him.Sandor was smiling himself, with his hair tangled and standing away from his head in funny ways. Sansa laughed lightly at the sight.“What’s funny, little bird?” he asked.“Your hair,” she said and stroked through it with her finger. He hummed at the feeling of Sansa's fingers on his scalp.“Slept well?” he asked.“Yes, very well. And you?” she asked.“Better than ever before,” he said and kissed her lips.“I can make breakfast if you like,” he suggested.“I would like that very much,” she said smiling.“Scrambled eggs and toast. Is that alright? I don’t have much in the fridge,” he added a little embarrassed.“That would be perfect, Sandor.”Sandor got out of bed and Sansa went to the bathroom to freshen up.She washed her face and was brushing her hair when her phone rang in the bedroom.Sandor just entered the bedroom after her with two plates filled with eggs and toast, when she picked up the phone.“It’s my mom,” Sansa said before she answered the call.“Hey mom,” Sansa said happily, sitting down at the head of the bed.“Good morning Sansa,” her mother said and she didn’t sound like she was happy. “Petyr called me yesterday and he told about the little show you pulled off yesterday at school.”Sansa rolled her eyes. Her mother knew Petyr Baelish since she had attended the King’s Landing herself, where she had met her father. Arya had once told her that she suspected that Baelish had a crush on their mother, but she never answered his feelings. They had stayed friends even after they had finished school and sometimes during her childhood Baelish had even visited them at home.He had even made it possible for Sansa and her siblings to get on the King’s Landing.Arya always thought him creepy, especially since he always mentioned how much Sansa looked like her mother and told her he could give her extra lessons if she would need them.She and Arya had always suspected that he told their mother about their doings in school, but her mother’s call now confirmed it.Sansa sighed.“What has he told you?” Sansa asked slightly annoyed rubbing her temples.“That you apparently have some kind of inappropriate relationship with some older man,” he mother said. “I would like to have an explanation.”“Yes, I have a relationship and yes, he is a few years older than me, but no, what we have is not inappropriate,” Sansa explained.“Then why would Petyr call me?”“Because he cares too much about my private life? I don’t know mom, he is your friend. I am just his student.”“Who is this man. I would like to have some information about the man my eldest daughter is in a foreign country with,” she demanded.“He is nice and smart and the most perfect man you can imagine mom,” she said.“And what does he do for a living? Is he working somewhere or is he still a student?”Sansa heard from her mother's voice that Petyr had already told her and she only wanted to hear it from her own mouth.“He is the school’s janitor, mom,” she said and she heard her mother sharply breath in.“Really? The janitor?” she asked scandalized. “What makes you sure he isn’t just after someone rich to fall softly.”“Mom, not everybody is bad. And just for your information. He never asked about money once. He only cares about me because he loves me, as I love him.”“Just like you loved Harry and he loved you?” her mother asked and it felt like a punch to the guts.“That was unnecessary mom, you probably never made a mistake in your youth,” Sansa said in a hurt voice and she felt Sandor grab her free hand looking at her with concern in his eyes. Sansa smiled at him to sooth his thoughts.“Why don’t you look out for a boy of your age in school. Someone more like you…”Sansa interrupted her.“Because I don’t care about that anymore, mom.”Her mother sighed.“It's your life Sansa, but be sure I will talk about that with your father. Next month is Christmas. Why doesn’t he come visit with you? I am sure your father will be delighted to meet him,” Sansa rolled her eyes again.“I'll talk to him about it mom. Okay I must stop, Sandor made breakfast. Love you mom,” she said and before her mother had the chance to say something again she had already ended the call. She had no need for an additional lecture about the propriety of her relationship.“Everything alright?” Sandor asked handing her the plate.“Yeah, Mr. Baelish only thought it necessary to call my mom to tell her about our apparently ´inappropriate´ relationship,” she said annoyed.“Why does Baelish care?” Sandor asked.Sansa took a bite of her eggs.“No idea. He probably thinks he has still a chance with my mother, but whatever. My mother can say what she wants and I don’t care if she thinks it appropriate or not. I love you and that’s what’s important to me.”“What are her concerns?” he asked.“I don’t know for sure. She probably thinks it’s just another stupid young love relation like with Harry and that you only want to take advantage of me to somehow get access to my money.”“I don’t give a crap about money, Sansa. I only care about you.”“I know, that’s what I told her too and then she asked us to visit during Christmas to meet you. I told her we would talk about it.”“For Christmas?”“Yes, so you meet the family and basically make our relation public to them.”“Do you want this? I mean we basically are only together for a few weeks,” he said.“I want that. I love you and I am not ashamed of us.”“I love you so much Sansa.”He leaned forward to kiss her again.“So, you want to come with me to meet my family over Christmas?” she asked.“Sure, my love. I want to be with you.”“Great,” she said and kissed him again. “I'll write mom later that we come.”She took another bite of her eggs.“The eggs are perfect.”“I am happy you like them.”Lady and Stranger walked into the bedroom and demanded their attention.“Yes, Lady. We’ll only finish our breakfast and then we can go for a walk.”Sansa kissed Sandor’s cheek and both dogs lay their heads awry at the sight making Sandor and her laugh in delight.
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A few weeks had passed since Sansa had made her relationship basically public with her behavior.Sansa ignored the strange looks of her fellow students. Sansa was used to them, so it was nothing new to her.Let them look, she always thought when she felt the eyes of the others on her back. Either they held disgust or pitiful embarrassment.Much to her surprise Joffrey hadn’t done anything the last weeks. If it was caused because he feared being targeted by Sandor’s wrath or because of her embarrassing him in front of everyone, Sansa couldn’t really say. It didn’t matter to her anyway.Sansa still remembered the Monday, after she had gotten the call from her mother, where Mr. Baelish had told her after class that she didn’t have to diminish herself with a janitor if she needed company.Sansa had kindly told Mr. Baelish that she chose her company herself and didn’t care at all about social status or what job someone had, as long as the character was perfect.Baelish hadn’t seemed to be happy about this answer, but Sansa didn’t care, because she went straight to Sandor’s room, since it was lunch break already.She often used the times in Sandor’s room during lunch break, to prepare some first papers for her finals exams that would be written shortly after the Christmas break.Sansa was already kind of excited to finally present Sandor to her parents, when she would go back home for Christmas, but at the same time she was anxious.What if her parents wouldn’t like him? Her mother hadn’t called her after their little talk since then and so Sansa wasn’t sure what her mother thought of Sandor. And she couldn’t even guess what her father would think.
***
It was the last week before the start of Christmas break and Arya had flown to the UK to spend a few days with Gendry’s and his mother, before she would fly back with Sandor and Sansa for Christmas. Her school had finished, because they needed the rooms for some kind of church event.Sansa had been excited to finally see her sister again after all these months, were the weekly skype call had been basically their only way to communicate.Sandor and Sansa had picked her up from the train station and Sansa had hugged her little sister tightly, even if Arya complained that Sansa crushed her with her affection.At first Arya had been a bit cold to Sandor, but then she had warmed up a little to him, because she obviously noticed that he wasn’t the slightest bit like Harry or Joffrey.Sansa had been curious to hear from home and so she and Arya had gone to Hotpie’s to drink tea and eat cake, over some long talk.Sansa asked her sister if her parents had talked about her and Sandor. Arya told her that their mother had talked to her father about it, but that her father wasn’t as surprised as their mother about Sansa choice.When Sansa asked why her father wasn’t as irritated as their mother, Arya reluctantly admitted that she had told their father about what had happened with Joffrey and Harry.Sansa had been a little mad with Arya, since she had promised to keep that secret, but Arya had calmed her down by telling her that she had to tell their father or he would have started to dig deeper for the reasons of why Arya had attacked Joffrey.Furthermore, Arya had told her that their father had been rather proud of Arya that she had defended her sister and he had promised to keep the secret from their mother.Their father seemed to be rather happy that Sansa had found an honest man like Sandor. Especially since his firstborn and de facto heir to the company had decided to marry and put a child into an obvious gold digger.Arya convinced her that their parents would be fine with Sandor and her in the end, because they would see how happy they obviously were. Especially since their parents were also happy with the relation between Arya and Gendry. They even had grudgingly accepted Robb’s life choices, even if they thought it an obvious mistake.The last week of school simply flew past her and she couldn’t wait to finally return home to her parents and other siblings. Even if it was just for a few days.
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They were on their way back to the UK. Sandor shifted in his seat. It felt so new to him to fly first class, rather than economy class, but Sansa’s parents had insisted that they flew the best way possible, even if it was a rather short flight to and from Germany.The holidays had passed rather quickly and Sandor was still busy to process the last couple of days.Sandor had expected the Stark villa to be a pretentious place, but what he had found instead was a rather pleasant surprise.While you could clearly see that Sansa’s family belonged to the richest people in the society, the whole house wasn’t stuffed with things only to show how rich they were.They had been picked up by a shuttle bus at the airport, which drove them directly to the Stark mansion.Sandor had never seen a place like this before. The garden looked less like a usual garden and more like part or small forest.Sandor was sure Stranger would love to run with Lady here he had told Sansa and he had felt a little bad since his loyal companion was with a kind lady in an animal hotel, Sansa always used, when she had to travel and needed someone to keep an eye on Lady.Sandor had been a bit anxious at meeting Sansa’s parents. After all her father was head of a powerful company and Sansa's mother watched every step he made in search for any flaws in his character.Sansa's little brothers though had been excited to meet him. Bran and Rickon both had been all over him asking him questions about what he had done during his time in military.Robb had been more critical of him. He was with his wife at the Stark house and her presence ensured tension within the house.It was fascinating to see that even this family, despite all their wealth celebrated the holidays very traditional.On Christmas Eve, they had a pretty simple dinner, before they all came together around the Christmas tree to exchange their presents for each other. The next day they feasted on a large goose roasts and hearty side dishes until they were all nearly unable to walk to the living room, where they spent the rest of the time playing games together.Over his stay Sansa’s mother warmed up a little to him. She still wasn’t completely convinced that Sandor was what she had in mind for Sansa, but even she had to admit that Sansa looked happy.Yesterday evening Sansa’s father had taken him aside and told him in person, that he thought Sandor was a decent man, that knows how to treat his daughter right. It meant a lot to Sandor to hear this from Sansa’s father.Sandor had assured him that he would never mistreat her or allow anyone to mistreat her in any way. The Stark patriarch had nodded acknowledging at his words.“Soon we will land Sandor,” Sansa chirped from the seat next to his and Sandor couldn’t wait to finally have time alone with Sansa again, without prying eyes and ears to watch over them.
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They had just picked up Lady and Stranger from the animal hotel and returned to Sandor’s flat.It felt good to be finally back here with Sandor, even if she had craved to stay a little longer with her parents and siblings.As soon as Sandor had unlocked the door Lady and Stranger ran past them happy to finally be home again.“I’ll make us some tea if you like,” Sansa chirped kissing his cheek.“Sounds great, little bird,” he said as he opened the mailbox to get the post of the last few days.Sansa had just heated the water, when she heard Sandor curse from the living room.“What’s going on, Sandor?” Sansa asked carrying two steaming cups.Sandor slammed down on the couch and threw an opened letter on the table.“I got fired…” he said, sounding more resigned than mad.“What?!” Sansa yelped and put the cups on the table. “Why?”“The head of school apparently got an anonymous tip that I have an inappropriate relationship with one of the students. I’ve got fired instantaneously.”“What does that mean for you?” Sansa asked uncertain.“I don’t know. I guess I have to go back to Scotland. I can’t afford this flat only by my army pension and I have never studied or learned anything else. I am fucked.”“No,” Sansa simply said.“No?” Sandor asked.“You can live with me if you like.” Sansa said immediately. “My place is big enough for Stranger and you.”“No Sansa. That’s very generous, but I won’t live off you just because I didn’t make anything out of myself.”“You wouldn’t live off of me Sandor. We would live together. I only have a few months until I am done with school and then I want to start building a future with you. I love you Sandor. My parents expect me to start to study economy just like Robb, so I can take my place as board member. But I am not interested in sitting in boring meetings for the rest of my life, only to nod the decisions Robb will make, since he will be the successor of our father as CEO one day.”“Are you sure Sansa? Won’t that decision drive a wedge between you and your family? Will it not rob you of your heritage?”“No Sandor. It’s good you talk about it. I know you are not interested in money, that’s why I can tell you what I didn’t even dare to mention to Harry and even less to Joffrey. Our grandfather Rickard made sure that all of his grandchildren got five percent of the company shares at birth, to grow over the years until they are adults and have finished school. I don’t know exactly how much money my shares are, but it’s enough that we could probably live without having to worry for anything the rest of our life. We could build up something together and always have my shares of the company as emergency cushion.”“So, will you stay with me for the last few months I still have in this damn school?” Sansa asked him.“Of course, I will Sansa,” he said with a voice choked with emotions and he quickly swept away some tears that pooled in the corners of his eyes.“You are the best thing that has happened to me over the years little bird.”“I think I can say the same for you,” Sansa said smiling.“Then it’s decided Sansa. I am moving in with you and will spoil you with everything you need to finish your finals with excellent grates,” Sandor promised her.“I didn’t expect anything less of you,” she said biting her lip. “I know something you can start with,” she added with a smirk.“What Sansa, tell me,” he said sounding curious.Sansa didn’t answer him, but simply took his hand with a smirk leading him to his bedroom.
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Sansa was snuggling up close to him and her hand rested over his still racing heart in his chest. She had her head on his shoulder and a smile played around her mouth. She had her eyes closed and hummed to herself, while Sandor felt her foot stroke against his calf.It was the time of Sansa’s final exams and Sandor had spent the last few months supporting Sansa as good as he could with her preparations.After they learned that Sandor had been fired, they hadn’t wasted time and started his move to her place the next day.They had managed to do it during what was left of the Winterbreak. Sandor was happy for it, since Sansa afterwards could immediately concentrate on her studies.At first Sandor had feared that Joffrey would continue his bullying Sansa with new effort now that he didn’t have to fear Sandor’s wrath in school anymore, however Sansa told him that Joffrey had to face a lawsuit. He had beaten up Margaery during the holidays, so Joffrey and his cronies kept their distance. Sansa told him that Margaery had tried to win back her friendship. Sansa had told the Tyrell girl that she would never forgive her for all the times she had stood laughing by Joffrey’s side, while she had been tormented by him.Sandor was glad that Sansa wasn’t bothered by Joffrey anymore, though Baelish still creeped around every corner to ask Sansa if she needed private lessons or extra help with her studies.They both were pretty sure by now that it had been Baelish to get Sandor fired.While Sandor respected Sansas decision to not take her place as member of the board of her family’s company, he had asked her what else she had in mind to do in her future.She happily told him that she always dreamt of building up something of her own like a bed and breakfast or have her own tailor shop, since she liked to sew and embroider as hobby.Sandor in return told her that he had often thought about rebuilding his grandfather’s distillery someday.“I love you,” Sansa murmured against his skin. While Sansa studied history, mathematics or biology, she had learned that Sandor was doing everything to satisfy her wishes, going so far as making sure that her supply of lemoncakes never ended.She had only one oral exam left tomorrow and she was done. Today she had her economy exam, where Baelish had been the auditor alongside Mr. Varys.Sansa told him she was more than confident that she would succeed, just before she had started to tear of his clothes.Every time she had finished an exam and come home they had ended in bed together. Most of the times even before Sandor could ask how it went.Sansa told him it helped her to relax and who was Sandor to complain about it.“I love you too Sansa,” Sandor said and rubbed his cheek against the crown of her hair.“Only politics tomorrow and I am finally finished,” she said.“Aye and I am sure you will pass without any problems.”Sandor had seen how much effort Sansa had put into her preparations for her finals. There was no way she wasn’t going to pass. She even had reduced the time she had spent with her beloved fanfiction and on Tumblr, to make sure she was going to pass.Sansa hummed to herself and snuggled closer in his embrace.“I bought you fresh lemon cakes from Hotpies earlier,” Sandor murmured and Sansa had squeed happily as she heard that her favorite treats were in the house.They embraced each other in silence for a while, until Sansa’s phone vibrated.Sansa reluctantly left his warm embrace and unlocked her phone screen to read the message that had arrived.“Was about time,” he heard Sansa declare somehow amused.“What happened?” he asked curious.“Remember the two writers from my fanfic WhatsApp group I told you about?” she asked him.While Sandor had certainly enjoyed watching Game of Thrones and the excited talks of Sansa when she had found another fanfiction of her favorite ship, the spark in him had never got as intense as it was for Sansa.“Yeah I remember you mentioned the others in the group said how disgustingly sweet those two were all the time.”“Yes, exactly them. It seems that now that she has also finished her last exam he has finally had the balls to tell her how he feels about her,” she explained in a dreamy voice.“Good for him. Did it play out the way he hoped?”“It did indeed,” Sansa said with a smirk. “I am happy for them. He was such a dense potato.”Sandor chuckled to himself.“Well, men are like that sometimes.”“Indeed. But better a dense potato than a confident asshole. I’d prefer a dense potato over someone like Harry or Joffrey every day.”“True enough little bird. True enough,” Sandor said. “What do you think Sansa, you have a nap and I prepare dinner?”Sansa smiled at his suggestion.“Sounds great my love,” she mused and buried her face in the pillow, while Sandor got out of the bed.Sansa’s mouth had curled into a smile and Sandor shot her a last glance before leaving the room swearing to himself he would prove himself worthy of her every day for the rest of his life.
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Sansa had passed her last exams, just like Sandor had always told her she would and now she was finally done with school.She would never have to visit King’s Landing again and she could finally leave every bad memory of this place behind.She had not only finally got her degree, she also had the best degree of her whole academic year.Her parents and siblings had come for the graduation and they had looked prouder than ever before, when she got her degree from Tywin Lannister himself.The old lion, how Sandor liked to call him, hadn’t looked happy during the whole ceremony, since his own grandson hadn’t passed any of his exams. Sandor hadn’t stopped laughing when Sansa had told him about it.Sansa had had a hard time to keep her laughter at bay during Mrs. Melisandre’s Religion class, when Cersei had dragged Robert to demand from Tywin a second chance from all teacher for her golden son.Tywin had rejected Cersei’s demands, telling her it wasn’t possible, since he was bound to the education law.The fit Cersei had thrown was heard throughout the whole school building much to her amusement.Sansa’s father had taken her aside after the graduation ceremony to tell her in private how proud he was for her. He told her that Arya had informed him about what Joffrey had done. Her father had explained that she should have told him, instead of keeping quiet.He had also told her that he understood her reasons for it, but he also said that he always wants the best for her.Over the course of the evening of the graduation her father had asked her what she had planned for the future.Much to Sansa’s relief her father wasn’t disappointed in any way that she didn’t want to study economy, but had plans to build her dream of a small bed and breakfast in combination with the distillery of Sandor’s grandfather.Her father had asked her if that really was what she wanted, since she could go to any university she wanted all over the world with her grades.Sansa confirmed that she really wanted it and that he didn’t have to fear she only did it because of Sandor.Her father had to acknowledge that Sandor was a good man and not the slightest interested in the money that came with her family name, in contrast to his daughter in law.Sansa even promised him that she would only use the money she would get from her family shares.Her father had respected her decision, nevertheless he said she would get the money to start her dream. After all he had paid for Robb’s education, while he only found himself a golddigger.Sansa had thanked him profusely for his generosity. But her father had simply told her that he loved her and was incredible proud about the woman she had become.That night, Sansa lied snuggled up to Sandor in bed. They had celebrated her graduation the whole evening with all her siblings.She informed him that they would be able to fulfill their dream, they had been planning for a while now. He had asked her if she really wanted it, after all she could go anywhere and start her life, while he was just a burden.Sansa had assured him that wasn’t the case and that she wanted to build a life with him. A year later the ‘Hound & Little Bird’ bed and breakfast opened up in one of the old administration buildings of the distillery. The distillery itself had opened around the same time and the first charge of whisky was already maturing in the storage.It would take years until the first bottles of the new ´Old Hounds´ whisky would be filled in bottles, but like everything Sansa and Sandor had built up it would take time to become perfect.Sansa’s parents had been the first guests, with her siblings.Luckily Sansa’s mother had finally stopped to see Sandor as a second Talisa and so the two weeks her family spent in Scotland had been a happy time.Arya had just had her own graduation and now wanted to travel through Australia for a year with Gendry.It didn’t take long until their distillery and the bed and breakfast were an insider tip between travelers and people who wanted to have a quiet place for a few days.The lemon cakes Sansa made were quickly known as the best in the whole region and so many people came just for the cake, but stayed for the night in the end.Not that Sansa or Sandor would complain. They were happy with everyone that came by.They would never get rich with neither the bed and breakfast nor the distillery, but they had enough through his pension and her annual dividend that they could afford a comfortable life together.Even after all this time she didn’t regret a single moment with Sandor. He still loved her like he did all those years ago and Sansa did the same.They were both completing each other like a perfect match and so it wasn’t such a big surprise when Sandor on a sunny Sunday got on his knees before her.She already said yes smiling widely even before the words left his mouth.The End.