COMPLETE. Sansa decides to be more proactive in trying to win a free North from Daenerys by forging a friendship between them. But what if false friendship leads to something more real and more complicated than Sansa ever intended? Season 8 AU, Daen...
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A/N: I listened to Ólafur Arnalds' Living Room Songs quite a bit while working on this and the previous chapter. Each song felt like the perfect accompaniment to the mood I tried to set, both in these last chapters and in the story overall.
The first segment of the chapter is Dany's POV, the rest is mixed POV.
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Sansa loves me.
This repeated in Daenerys's mind as she hastily made her way to the rooms below Sansa's. She and Grey Worm took the stair down and met with one of Sansa's guards, who said Ser Podrick would be arriving shortly, and that the cot and some food had been placed in the bedchamber's adjoining solar. Daenerys gave instructions to Grey Worm that he should wait for Podrick and when he arrived, to take advantage of the respite and sleep.
She walked into the bedchamber and saw servants pouring buckets of steaming water into the nearly full bath. Glancing around, she noted the fire in the hearth burning brightly and the varied foods that had been placed on the table. She nodded to herself and appreciated Sansa's thoughtfulness. Daenerys walked over to the table and poured water into her goblet, then gulped it down.
Sansa loves me.
Trying to shake these thoughts, Daenerys poured wine into the goblet, then took a piece of bread, dipped it in the wine, and ate it. She also ate a few pieces of dried meat and cheese. For a moment she wondered why she was doing all of this with her right hand but then glanced at her left and saw that it was still clutching that blasted dress.
It can't be true.
It felt disconcerting being back here at Winterfell. The familiarity comforted Daenerys in a way she hadn't felt since moving into the Red Keep, but being reminded of what she couldn't have, the scent of Sansa's bedchamber, all of it tormented her, too. Turning back to the bath, her shoulders sagged in exhaustion. After the servant curtsied and left, she carefully placed the dress on a chair near the bed, where she noticed a nightgown had been provided, and began undressing. It was only when she was reclined in the hot water that she let her eyes drift upward, knowing Sansa was above her. She sighed longingly.
Daenerys's eyes drifted to the dress, and a flutter again came to her chest at the thought of that red wolf. It had thrown her off balance and made her realize she'd gotten too comfortable in Sansa's bedchamber, practically flirted... what was she thinking asking questions like that about Tyrion and touching the furs of her bed? Ever since she'd left Winterfell, she had tried to convince herself that whatever she suspected about Sansa's feelings had been wrong, that Sansa never felt what she did. But it didn't go away; the memories of their time together would come upon her unexpectedly. Touring the Red Keep and her visits to the city put pictures to some of the places Sansa had spoken about; there were not many since she preferred sharing her memories of Winterfell than those of King's Landing. It made looking at the Iron Throne difficult, knowing who had sat on it as he tormented Sansa. Daenerys hadn't given destroying it a second thought.
