You hadn't meant for this to happen. You hadn't meant to develop feelings for the statuesque warrior. She just grabbed your attention and kept it. The longer you were around her, the more your feelings grew. That should have told you to run the other way. With the world in the state it was in after the Great War, love had no place yet. But did you do that? Of course not. You did the complete opposite.
"Would you train me?" you asked her. She stared at you for a moment. "You want me to train you?" You nodded and smiled. "Yes. You're the captain of the Kingsguard for a reason, Brienne. You are the best warrior alive. And Podrick speaks highly of your abilities."
Brienne blushed and you swore you'd never seen anything more adorable. That wasn't a word you would normally use to describe her, but with that pink tinting her cheeks, that was precisely what she was. "I suppose I could train you," she said slowly. You beamed at her. "Thank you. You won't regret it." With that, you ran off, leaving Brienne staring after you.
That was the beginning of things. It didn't take you long to get comfortable with Brienne. Not the training, of course. That was intense, though you could make it playful when you wanted to which you did. Often. You very quickly learned that Brienne was easily flustered but not angered so you would always find some small thing to compliment her on whenever you trained.
And you flirted. Boy did you flirt. "Good form," she praised. "I could say the same for you," you replied with a wink. Her cheeks turned red, making you laugh. You loved how flustered Brienne got, especially when she still didn't seem to make the connection that you were slowly falling in love with her.
Even though nothing in your relationship with Brienne changed, you could see a change in her. There was a confidence blooming in the woman that hadn't been there before. Brienne hadn't had many people look at her the way you and Podrick did. Although you looked at her a bit differently than Pod, you both admired her strength and resilience. It gave Brienne a sense of self-worth she hadn't had before. Unfortunately, not everyone agreed with you about the warrior.
A lot of the other knights weren't happy to serve under Brienne. Despite the fact that she had more than proven her worth, they weren't pleased that she had been knighted above them. Jealousy was a strange thing and it made them say things they shouldn't have. Especially in front of you. One day, you'd finally had enough.
"What did you say?" you asked one particularly loud complainer. He repeated himself and you grew angry. You knew you shouldn't have tried to fight him. You weren't ready, but you weren't about to stand there and let this man insult Brienne's honor. Without giving it a second thought, you pulled you sword, silently challenging the man. He accepted.
You were outmatched. You knew that, but that didn't stop you from trying. The man and the other knights laughed at your attempt. It didn't take long for you to end up in the dirt with the man's sword pointed at your throat. "What is going on here?!" you heard Brienne's voice snap. The man, for all his boasting, looked scared out of his wits. He lowered his sword, allowing you the chance to spring back up to your feet.
Brienne turned her blue eyes to you. "He insulted you," you explained, "I wouldn't let it go unanswered." Brienne turned to him. "I don't care what you think of me. Your opinion means nothing. But you will NOT accept a challenge for my honor with someone else. If you wish to insult me, fine. Then challenge me." Brienne gripped the hilt of her sword, ready to unsheathe it if necessary.
The knight glanced between you and Brienne. It was clear he was trying to decide if he was stupid enough to take on Brienne's challenge. Brienne merely stared him down, waiting patiently. Eventually, he decided to take her on. After all, if he won(doubtfully), he could easily take her place as Captain of the Kingsguard. He raised his sword again, taking a stance he hoped would be enough to take on his commander.
You watched in awe as Brienne and this knight engaged in a graceful dance of swords. The clashing of the steel practically echoed through the courtyard. You couldn't move. You could hardly breathe as you watched Brienne. You weren't afraid. Far from it. It was as if every thought just disappeared from your head when you saw just how fierce and strong the woman was.
You hadn't even noticed the fight ended until Brienne was in front of you once again. "Are you alright?" You stared at her with your mouth unable to form words. You gave a little nod of your head. "T-That was-" you cut off as your brain tried to find the right word, "Incredible. Amazing!" Brienne gaped at you. "Are you sure you're alright? You're acting like you hit your head." You laughed.
"I'm fine. I just...you're wonderful." Brienne continued to stare at you for a moment before she chuckled softly. She shook her head. "You are strange. You spend all your time training making these comments that, if I didn't know better, I would say were rather flirtatious. Yet now you can hardly say a word."
You blinked in surprise. "So you did notice?" Brienne rolled her crystal blue eyes. "I would have to be an idiot not to, Y/N. I simply didn't know if you were joking or not. It's happened before," she told you sadly. It was the first time you'd heard her sound broken. You instantly shook your head. "I wasn't. I've never been good at outright telling people my feelings. Flirting was easy. Telling you that I've been falling in love with you isn't."
Even though you were outside, the air suddenly seemed too thick to breathe. That wasn't what you had meant to say at all. She just had a way of making your brain stop functioning for small moments at a time. The look on Brienne's face was mixture of disbelief and surprise. "Are-Are you telling me the truth?" she asked quietly. Your heart broke a little. Despite all the confidence you and Podrick had instilled in her, she still didn't believe someone could love her?!
You slowly drew a little closer to her. "I have never lied to you, Brienne. It's out in the open now. I have very strong feelings for you. I think...I think I'm in love with you. You can do with that what you will, but know this; no matter your feelings for me, you are worthy of love, Brienne. You are beautiful, inside and out. You are strong and courageous and fierce. Never let anyone make you feel like you don't deserve love and respect."
It was your turn to feel flustered when Brienne suddenly grabbed you, pulling you closer to her. You were grateful she wasn't wearing her armor at the moment. The force she'd used would have bruised you if you had hit armor. You felt your entire body heat up at the contact. Brienne looked into your eyes for a moment, like she was deciding on what to do next.
You tentatively wrapped your arms around her waist and nearly melted into a puddle when you felt Brienne's lips press a kiss to your hair. Even if nothing else happened between you, you would gladly relive this moment over and over for the rest of your life. This was your moment of pure, albeit flustered, perfection.