( Summer Romance Modern AU)
Sansa Stark had spent her entire life chasing an image of a man that only existed within the pages of her novels. Men who were kind, gentle and brave. Men who loved with tenderness and soft security. Who loved unconditionally.
Men who she’d discovered didn’t seem to exist.
On her quest for the love she craved, she had met only cleverly disguised cruelty. Her handsome prince turned out to be a sadist, her blue-eyed bastard who she saw the best in, had only left her with scars. She had been battered and bruised chasing that image.
Sansa Stark had grown to believe that a love she craved was too much to ask for.
Now, as she returns to Winterfell Manor from Red Keep University the summer after her Junior year, she’s pretty much given up on love completely. Learned to believe that a kind good love just wasn’t in the cards for her and would remain within the confines of her beloved fiction.
She was surprised to find that her fellow siblings have found what she had been dreaming of since she was a little girl. The right kind of love.
Her eldest brother, Robb, had fallen into the arms of one Margarey Tyrell who seemed to make him better and happier. Jon had Daenerys, a woman Sansa figured she hate but had soon come to form a strong bond with through their shared trauma. She understood her pain and never judged her for it. Both their exes had left their fair share of marks and Dany had this way of reassuring her that the abuse didn’t have to define her. That she could find genuine love, like she did with Jon. Sansa wanted to believe her. A small part of her did.
Even Arya and Bran had found people. Gendry was nice and he and Arya argued like an old married couple. Sansa called them cute once and Arya shot her a look of disgust before her boyfriend wrapped his arms around her waist. She could still think they were cute, even if her sister would detest her saying it aloud.
Bran had found comfort in his best friend’s brother, Jojen Reed. She hadn’t even known he was into guys until they showed up, hand in hand. Then again, he was never really the type to share much about himself. That and the fact that they were never that close as kids.
She liked Jojen though, Bran seem more alive in his presence. He actually got him to respond to the world around him and she hadn’t seen her brother seem so happy since before the accident.
It seemed like it was just her and Rickon now.
She didn’t even know thirteen year olds could have relationships. The Stannis and his family came over for dinner one night and he caught Rickon and Shireen holding hands under the table when she moved to get the fork she dropped.
Sansa was the last Stark who wasn’t in love. She tried not to dwell on it but she’d be lying if she said she didn’t hate it.
Her mom, Catelyn had made partner at her law firm and with the extra money she decided to hire some help around the house. Brienne’s nephew came to work for them as a groundskeeper. She had met Podrick Payne once before and she was not impressed. Not even in the slightest.
She remembered him being aloof and always with this goofy grin on his face. He seemed to stumble throughout life, like a newborn deer. He had a crush on her when they were kids, an awkward crush and Sansa had made it a point to avoid him ever since.
She doubted anything had changed so without actually interacting with him, she decided to avoidance was the best route. The last thing she needed was to deal with some helpless, love-struck man baby who wouldn’t leave her alone.
Sansa had successfully remained ignorant to his presence for the first few days and it was a pretty proud accomplishment might she add. And then she actually saw him, sweaty and shirtless outside of her bedroom window as he mowed through the lawn.
And something inside her, stirred. Awoken like a bear in hibernation.
Gods, she felt like a fucking cliche watching him from her bedroom window.
He had lost his baby weight, grew out his hair and had a beard.
She had never pictured Podrick Payne with a beard. She never even thought he could grow one. Nor did she think he’d ever.
She hadn’t thought he’d fill out the way he had either. He had strong arms, really strong arms. He didn’t have abs but his stomach was flat and his chest, covered a little bit in hair.
She bit her lip as she watched him, she actually bit her lip like some silly school girl seeing an attractive man for the first time.
Podrick must’ve sensed her gaze and looked up in her direction. Sansa’s eyes widened when he waved at her. Fuck, she probably looked like some random creep.
She didn’t wave back, just closed the curtain swiftly and ignored the churning in her stomach as she sat back down on her bed.
Was she-Was she just thirsting over Podrick Payne?
After that, Sansa avoided him for an entirely different reason.
Yet she couldn’t avoid the Summer Harvest. A religious holiday that people just used as an excuse to eat good with their families and friends. Her mother, ever the socialist, invited Brienne and her family along with a few others.
Podrick sat directly across from her and Sansa hated to admit that he made her nervous. She wasn’t an anxious person yet here she was and this was Pod for crying out loud. He cried when he stepped over a snail in Kindergarten. Why was she nervous over Podrick?
After Dinner, Sansa just wanted to disappear but if she left, it’d spark some kind of suspicion amongst her family members and friends. The last thing she wanted to do was explain her crush and she was a shitty liar.
By the luck of some very unforgiving gods, the very subject of her anxiety approached her. She felt her stomach flip when he smiled the same cheeky little grin that made her want to throw sand on him when they were kids.
“Hi.” He dug his hands into his pockets and Sansa felt her cheeks turn red. He was so cute and he didn’t even know it.
“Hi.” She couldn’t remember the last time her voice had been so soft. Or high.
“Thank you, you uh, you look tall.”
Tall? What? What did she just say?
“I meant, you look taller. Taller than the last time we met.” she fumbled out as Podrick stared at her, a small smile playing at his lips.
“Yeah well, puberty I guess.”
And Sansa laughed, a little too loudly but it made Pod smile and it was nice. Talking to him after that was nice to. Easier than she thought. Podrick listened and only spoke when he felt it necessary but Sansa didn’t mind. She actually preferred it.
After the harvest, she found herself around Podrick more than she ever thought she would be. Sansa talked to him while he worked the weeds, ignoring the way his shirt clung to him and the way his muscles flexed as he did so. She helped him when he worked in the greenhouse, admiring the difference of how firm he was with the weeds and how gentle he was with the roses.
Then it happened. The moment.
The moment where the both reached for the watering can at the same time. Their hands touched and shivers ran up her arm and down her spine.
Podrick turned to her and the look in his eyes, the shift in the atmosphere scared the living shit out of her. He was going to kiss her, she knew it.
“I have a midterm to write!” She screamed suddenly, taking Podrick by surprise as he pulled away from her.
She didn’t wait for him to answer before running away like a frightened school girl. It was summer vacation, mid terms were half a year away. That was by far, the worst excuse she could have ever come up with.
She avoided him for a week after that. Mentally tormenting herself for her freak reaction.
He was kind and he made her feel safe.
And he made her laugh, without even really trying. Nobody has ever made her laugh the way he has.
He was everything she had ever truly wanted and she freaked out when he tried to kiss her.
She was so stupid. Gods, how could she face him again after this?
She wouldn’t. She couldn’t.
Summer would be over soon. Six measly weeks and then she would never have to face him or her actions again. She could do it.
After the first day, she actually believed it. She doesn’t know if it was her or if it was Podrick but she didn’t care, only thanked the gods.
And then, the second day came.
There was a dinner that was way too romantic for her taste. She felt like the third wheel amongst her family and by the time appetizers’ came out, she had found some flimsy excuse to go home.
He was there, in the greenhouse. She knew he worked tonight and that he probably would be nurturing the winter roses Daenerys brought from Dragonstone which needed to be tended to at night. Her plan of avoiding him slipped her mind as she but she’d be lying if she made her way over to the crystal building.
She wanted to see him and that also scared the living shit out of her.
He must’ve heard her heels clicking on the sidewalk because he turned to her, stepping from the greenhouse and into the moonlight.
Shit, why was was he so cute?
“I know I freaked out yesterday bu-”
He didn’t let her finish before closing distance between the two of them with four short strides. The feeling of his hands on her waist halted her words in her throat as he pulled her gently into him. Her stomach dropped and her legs wobbled but he held her steady.
“I just, can I kiss you? Just once.”
She nodded, not able to form coherent thoughts as his lips pressed against her own. They were soft and Sansa melted into him. The once feverish kiss turned passionate as her arms wrapped around his neck and he pulled her into him even more. Her mind was hazy as her fingers moved to entangle themselves in his hair.
Thunder crackled above them but neither cared enough to pull away.
Only when soft droplets of rain fell on their skin did she and Podrick finally move away from each other. Foreheads resting on the other’s as they breathed in sync.
She couldn’t believe it, she had kissed Podrick Payne in the rain like some kind of Disney movie. And she still wanted to kiss Podrick in the rain so she did. Closing the gap once again, a smile playing on her lips as she lost herself in the moment and him, especially him.
The cold they both got a week later was so fucking worth it.
Suprisingly, she and Podrick worked. It wasn’t just some fleeting kiss, it became so much more. They explored Winterfell Manor together. Stealing kisses in the nooks and crannies of the old noble home. They went on a few day trips together, sometimes just to drive and find the most secluded clearing to have picnics in. He took her hiking and she took him to art museums.
They worked and falling in love with him was a natural occurrence that summer.
By the end of it, Sansa came to the conclusion that maybe she had it wrong before. That maybe kind, brave and gentle men didn’t just belong in her novels. Maybe they were just clumsy frogs who needed time to blossom into the handsome prince, or in her case, the cute groundskeeper who made her feel safe and happy. Really happy.
