#inky!

I waited outside the door, flexing and clenching my fist. Arya leaned against the wall across from me, throwing her dagger in the air and catching it, over and over. After what felt like a lifetime, Lord Stark emerged from the chambers behind me. He looked between us for a moment, then sighed.

“He is going to be fine,” he told us. “Laid up for a bit, but fine.”

A pressure lifted from my chest instantly. I took several deep breaths, looking at the ground, as Arya pushed by her father to see the truth of her brother’s condition for herself. When I looked up again, Lord Stark was watching me, a sympathetic look in his eyes.

“You can be honest, Jasper,” he said gently. “My wife is very observant, and there is little she does not share with me. I know how you feel about him.”

“Robb is my dear friend,” I replied, keeping my face as neutral as possible. “As the late King Robert was yours.”

“My wife shall usher our daughter out in a moment,” Lord Stark said, ignoring my statement. “You shall have him to yourself. Perhaps use the opportunity to express yourself a bit more freely.”

“Lord Stark, I do not—”

I was interrupted by the arrival of Lady Stark, Arya on her arm and Ser Jaime just behind her. She smiled at me, reaching up with her free hand to cup my cheek.

“He wishes to see you, darling,” she told me, a tenderness in her eyes that felt more intimate than if she’d stripped me naked. I swallowed and nodded, waiting until she’d stepped back to walk through the door. I heard it close behind me as I moved into the bedchamber, where Robb was sitting up against the pillows. His expression brightened at the sight of me, and my chest constricted.

“Jas!”

“Robb.” I sat on the edge of the bed. “Your father said that you’re going to be fine?”

“Oh, aye.” Robb waved a hand about. “My mother was rather cross with me, but that’s how mothers are. I’m young and healthy, I shall recover rather quickly.”

“You have no sense of your own mortality,” I muttered, shaking my head.

“Did you speak to my mother?” Robb laughed. “That is precisely what she said!” I huffed and looked at the floor, unable to stop a lump of emotion from rising in my throat.

“Jas?” Robb leaned forward and placed his hand on my forearm. I looked at the hand, working my jaw, then back up to his face. Robb met my gaze with soft confusion, brow furrowed and head cocked.

“Your father said I ought to express myself more freely,” I told him, anxious but resolved to tell him the truth. “My heart is rather burdened, Robb, and has been for some time. The fact that I have hidden this burden from you has been both a necessity and a great shame.”

“Jasper,” Robb cut me off, “touch me.”

“What?” I blinked rapidly at him.

“Touch me,” he repeated. “I need your hands on me, Jasper.”

“You have a wife,” I replied, even as I turned more fully towards him and reached out to caress his cheek.

“She doesn’t care.” Robb leaned into my hand. “She knows how you feel, Jas, and she is unbothered.”

“You are injured, rather seriously,” I protested.

“There is plenty of me that is not injured,” Robb responded, his hand dropping from my arm to cup my cock. “You’ll be gentle with me, Jas. You’re always gentle.”

Robb leaned forward before I could say anything else, pressing his lips to mine. I opened my mouth to him, leaning down so that he was laid back against the pillows once more. I slid my leg between his, grinding my hips down. Robb grunted into my mouth, fingers tangling in my hair. I was filled with desperation, ten years of longing pushing to the surface. Carefully holding my weight up to avoid straining his injuries, I kissed along Robb’s jaw.

“You’re so beautiful,” I murmured in his ear. “I would do anything for you.”

Robb dug his teeth into my neck in response, hips bucking up into mine. I shifted my weight onto one arm and reached down, pulling up his shirt to wrap my fingers around his cock. My own needed no such attention; I could feel myself about to spill from humping his thigh alone.

“C’mon, love,” I breathed, planting a kiss just below Robb’s ear, “release for me. Spill in my hand.”

Robb grunted again, face buried in my neck, nails digging into my scalp. I rocked my hips in rhythm with the movement of my wrist, teetering on the edge.

“Let go,” I whispered. “Robb, I’m gonna spill in my fucking breeches, please, just release for me.”

“Shit, Jasper.”

Robb thrust up into my hand with a groan, spilling onto his stomach. The sight was enough to pull my own release from me, flooding my breeches with a sticky warmth. I rolled off of Robb, laying down next to him, catching my breath.

“So,” Robb said after a minute, “shall I let Margaery know that you’ll be joining us in our bed upon our return to Winterfell?”

“If she’ll have me, I am all yours,” I replied, turning my head to smile at him.

“I’m surprised that you came,” you hummed, shovelling a spoon of the sweet treat into your mouth. 

Jamil took his spoon and got a small scoop of the shaved ice. “Why wouldn’t I? You invited me.” I like spending time with you. “Today was… enjoyable I guess.”

You rolled your eyes at him, “Aw, come on, Jamil, admit that you had a little bit of fun, it won’t hurt ya.” Even when you were waiting in line for over an hour, he stuck with you. “You deserve to have some fun, to let loose. You work yourself too hard.”

Jamil raised a brow and looked at you. The setting sun cast warm light on your face, and he quickly looked away. “Fine, I had fun today,” he relented. “And thank you for thinking of me. Despite the screaming children, it was fun. And I suppose I will try to let loose.”

“Don’t forget about the hornet that chased you arou-” You stopped talking and stifled a coughed-out laugh at the face he was giving you for bringing up that incident again. He had to rip your phone out of your hands to delete the video you took, he didn’t need Kalim to see that or everyone else working at the Al-Asim estate for that matter. “I mean, I’m glad that you had fun. I like spending time with you.”

Jamil looked back to your face, and he saw the orange sun reflected in your eyes. “I like spending time with you too,” he offered you a small smile.

The way the setting sun backlit Jamil made him look ethereal, glowing even, and you paused and just looked at him in silence for a few moments before snapping out of it. “If you want we can come back another time, maybe I’ll even be able to beat you at that basketball game!”

He let out a single chuckle, he was being a lot more relaxed with you and he couldn’t place when he had started doing so. He felt like he could be himself, and not the Jamil that everyone expected him to be. “I doubt it, you missed every single shot, no wonder you didn’t join the Basketball Club. If you want to come back, there’s a festival happening in August at the estate for the meteor shower if you wanted to go again-”

“Are you asking me on a date?” You asked, looking at him with wonder and teasing.

Jamil hummed, “If I were to do so, would you accept?”

“Yeah, if you were asking, I would always say yes,” you said.

He gave you a smile, a genuine smile, a window into the true Jamil. “Well then, would you like to go on a date… with me?”

You reached your hand across the table, palm facing up, “I’d love to.”