You suddenly paused when you reached the bottom of the steps, considering the next move very carefully. The moment you began speaking with Jaime, you would become the butt of the jokes again. You released a shaking breath before marching over to him, a smile plastered on your lips.
"Hi," you started rather firmly, startling him slightly as he glanced up at you. "I'm Y/N," you continued, holding out your hand in his direction as you offered a handshake, and making sure your other arm was clearly visible to him.
You watched as Jaime's eyes flicked down to your hand for a moment, straying only momentarily to look at your other arm. "Good evening, My Lady," he finally started, reaching out with his hand to shake yours, a ghost of a smile pulling at the very edges of his lips.
The two of you stood quietly for a moment, your confidence slipping as you glanced up at the two men on the balcony, grinning down at you as though you were the most entertaining thing in the room. "I hate to be the bringer of bad news," you uttered, finally returning your attention to Jaime. "But do you see those two men up there?" you asked, tipping your head in their direction.
His eyes flickered up to them for a moment, before landing back on you. "Lord Frey's boys?"
You nodded, your tongue darting out to wet your lips as you braced yourself for your next sentence. "They've been making rather inelegant jokes about your hand all evening," you murmured. "It's the same thing over and over, and they never seem to realise that someone else has already told it."
"Why are you telling me this?" he started, his eyes darting over to the door on the far side of the room, until you reached out and placed a hand on his arm, drawing his attention back to you.
"Because you were going to find out eventually, and I thought it might be a little less painful coming from someone else who's been in your position." You paused for a moment, releasing a soft sigh. "And because I know that if you let their mutterings upset you, you'll end up bitter and miserable, and I don't think that you deserve to live like that."
Jaime gave a sharp nod, breathing in a deep breath. "What were they saying?"
A small smile pulled at your lips when you felt him relaxing under your hand. "Gods, nothing worth listening to," you chuckled, shaking your head. "They all think they're comedians, but it's all just stupid hand based word play." You saw his lips twitch, an attempt at a smile twisting at their edges. "Are they looking at us?" you asked, shifting a little closer to him as you lowered your voice.
His eyes drifted away from you again, running over the balcony. "They are," he confirmed softly.
"I bet I can guess what they're saying," you told him, your smile growing as you scrunched up your nose in concentration. "They'll be making some comment about me being a handful, and the other one will say something about the 'armless flirting we're clearly part of," you paused, listening to the laughter that bubbled out of him. "I can assume that it will end in one of them saying something about you asking for my hand in marriage," you added, shaking your head. "They're predictable; they always have been."
Jaime was standing so close to you now that you felt your breath catch in your throat, your laugh falling off awkwardly. "How long ago did you lose your arm?" he started, and it was as if the teasing energy had dropped out of you. It was rare that anyone wanted to talk about your lost limb, most of them avoiding it as though by murmuring the words it would make the affliction catchable.
"I was born without it," you uttered, sating his curiosity and almost praying that he would drop the uncomfortable subject.
"Did you ever wish you were normal?"
A snort of laughter fell out of you before you could catch it, and you glanced up at him with raised eyebrows. "You think these people are normal?" you asked him softly. "They go around begging for attention and deep down they're all so desperately insecure about something. The only difference between me and them is that I've embraced the parts of me that make me stand out."
"I didn't mean-"
"I know you didn't," you interrupted, offering him a small smile. "This is new to you at the moment, but you'll get used to it."
The smile that he sent your way was sweet, and so sincere that it shocked you a little bit, stopping you in your tracks for just a moment before you returned it. "Thank you," he told you, and you watched as he bit back a small laugh. "You know, you're the first person to talk to me about it. Everyone else is so worried about the hand being gone that they've not stopped to think about how it's effecting the other parts of me."
You took his hand in yours, giving it a light squeeze. "If you ever need someone to talk to about it, I've been told I'm a wonderful listener," you uttered, giving his hand a final squeeze before releasing him. "And I hate to brag, but I do give fantastic advice," you added, hearing that sweet chuckle drip from his tongue again.
"I'll be sure to seek you out sometime," he murmured, risking a glance up at the two men on the balcony. "Tell you what," he added, a smirk growing on his lips. "Let's give them something to talk about," he continued, his hand moving to touch your cheek ever so lightly. "Is this alright?" he asked, his eyes staring into yours as your breath caught in your throat. You nodded a little too eagerly, and then his lips were pressed to yours in a soft kiss, and your mind was going completely haywire. He hesitated as he pulled away, his lips still brushing against yours as he held your gaze.
"Are they still looking?" you murmured as his hand shifted to your waist, pulling you into his side in a motion that seemed all too natural for your first time meeting. His eyes darted over to them for a moment, his lips turning up into a small smirk.
He hummed for a moment. "Definitely," he uttered, turning to whisper the word into your ear. "In fact, they look a little jealous." He paused for a moment, his nose nudging at your cheek. "Think they may have been a bit more interested in you than you give yourself credit for."
You let out a short chuckle, shaking your head. "You're being silly."
"I'm not," he corrected, pressing another kiss to your cheek. "Look at them," he added, watching as you did as you were told.
Sure enough, the men had stopped their laughing, their eyes still fixed on the two of you huddled close together amongst the crowd.
"They're looking at you thinking about how they missed their chance," he uttered. "And all because they were too busy being cruel to realise that you're absolutely perfect."
Gods, your heart shouldn't be beating this fast. You shouldn't be enjoying the way he was holding you. You'd only met him ten minutes ago. And yet everything about him was drawing you closer and you were loving every second of it. "You know what would make them even more jealous?" you started, a burst of confidence escaping you before you could catch it. He hummed, waiting for your answer. "If we left right now." You paused for a moment, feeling his hand come to rest on your hip. "Together."
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Jaime Lannister X Reader - Hair, Body, Face
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