Sansaery + christmas AU
For all that Margaery has known Sansa, she's never made a big fuss over Christmas. At most, Sansa makes singular responses over anything involving Christmas. She beams at the decorations but never sets them up. She brightens at the treats and cookies but never eats them. She smiles all around her but the smile never reaches her eyes.
It’s their last year in college together when Margaery looks at Sansa and asks, “Can I come home with you?”
Sansa stops taking notes on her political science course and looks at Margaery as if she’d grown three dragons heads.
“For Christmas?” Margaery clarifies quickly. “Can I come home with you?”
For a moment, Sansa turns away and continues to take notes diligently. “I am afraid that it’ll be far too dull in Winterfell.” She snorts a laugh. “It’ll also be much colder there than in the Reach.”
Margaery pauses for a moment. She hadn’t even considered the cold. Sometimes she forgets that the old house sigil of the Starks’ was “Winter is Coming.” If anyone south of Harenhaal even thinks it’s cold as winter approaches, Margaery was sure to freeze.
“I just want to spend time with you,” Margaery continues as she sidles up next to the red head. She wraps her arms around her waist and settles her chin on her shoulder. “Can we do that? Spend Christmas together?”
The quiet girl still doesn’t answer right away. Margaery’s known her long enough to hear the gears turning in her head before she reaches a response. “Wouldn’t your family miss you?”
“Not as much as I would miss you,” Margaery playfully nips at the other girl’s earlobe. She is quickly batted away with a laugh.
Sansa turns her head and meets Margaery’s lips slowly. She kisses with such promise. “I think about it,” she says.
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A few days later, Sansa slides into bed after a late night of exams and cuddles up behind her. Margaery is extremely tired after work and barely registers her presence. She turns her head for a kiss and feels Sansa’s cold lips against hers.
“You’re back late,” she mutters sleepily.
Sansa makes a sound of agreement. A silence falls between them for a moment.
Margaery is close to falling asleep again when she hears, “Come with me to Winterfell. I want to be with you.” Margaery smiles as she falls asleep in Sansa’s arms.
As the trip rolls closer, Margaery becomes anxious. She knows that she’ll be meeting the Starks’ head of the household, her ever loving brother, Robb.
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“It’s Margaery, she wants to come,” Sansa says through the phone a week before their trip. Margaery stares from her desk trying not to pry but overhearing Sansa’s end of the conversation anyways. “No...you can’t do that. You’re not father...Of course, your opinion matters...Don’t drag her into this...she’ll make fun of me to no end.” There’s a loud laugh from the other end of the phone and Sansa grimaces. “Fine. Do what you want. They’re all busy, I am sure of it.”
Sansa says that not all of the Starks usually make it home for Christmas but she’s surprised when she mentions to Robb that Margaery was coming, the rest of the Starks would be joining them.
Margaery feels special being the first person Sansa’s bringing home.
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Margaery thought that Sansa would be happy being home with her family with Christmas. That maybe the distant looks she gives off while she’s in King’s Landing is just a front she uses to hide how much she secretly loves Christmas.
It doesn’t make the red head any happier than when she is in school. If anything, it makes Margaery feel like she just pressured the girl into inviting her over for something she really hated coming home to. She starts to have doubts about everything and prays that Sansa doesn’t hate her right now for asking to come to Winterfell.
Margaery watches the Stark siblings set up the Christmas decorations under Robb’s orders and tries to help where she can. Sansa doesn’t help though, she simply says she’ll prepare dinner and disappears into the kitchen. When Margaery offers help, Sansa brushes it off.
She is holding up the tinsel for Robb to wrap around the tree when he says to her, “She doesn’t like Christmas.”
Margaery gives him a curious look.
“She doesn’t really like to talk about it in the winter, really. Mum and dad used to be the harbingers of spirit up until the accident,” Robb reveals as best as he can. “Sansa was there out of all of us.” He reaches as far back around the tree as he can before deciding it’s far enough. “I don’t think she’s ever really gotten over it.”
Margaery whispers a thank you and dutifully continues helping him. She wants to say more but knows better than to test that. For the rest of the night, she watches Sansa work her way around the kitchen and wonders what Sansa is thinking of the whole time.
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Margaery is about to go for a shower at the end of the night when she catches bit of Sansa talking to her younger sister, Arya.
“She makes you happy,” Arya pokes playfully. “Seems like you might be in love with her.”
“I do love her,” Sansa says a matter of factly. It brings a smile to Margaery’s lips as she moves to interrupt the conversation to not overhear anything else.
“Have you told her yet? About the accident?”
Margaery freezes. She doesn’t mean to but it doesn’t sound like something she should interrupt. This is the second time it’s been mentioned.
Sansa lets out a sigh that Margaery can vividly imagine. An answer comes slowly after, “It doesn’t matter.”
“Of course, it does. Sansa, you don’t talk to us .You never talk to us. At least talk to her.”
Margaery stops listening and pushes the door open to reveal her presence. “Sorry, where’s the bathroom?” she asks as if she didn’t hear a word they said.
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Margaery starts to get cold under the covers as she feels a shift in the bed. She lets the covers slide against her naked body before she realizes Sansa’s warmth is completely gone. She wakes up, alert that she’s alone.
When she looks around the room, she sees, Sansa standing at the window in only her flannel shirt, looking out into the grey. The blue bounces off and kisses her body. It reflects off her pale skin and she looks almost translucent. She looks like a ghost for a moment.
Margaery sits up and pulls the sheet around her chest. She steps onto the shaggy rug, thankful that it’s warm.
Sansa notices that she’s awake. “Go back to sleep,” she says softly.
Margaery stands instead, wrapping the sheet around her body. She walks over to where the redhead is standing and looks out. Everything is blanketed in white. It looks beautiful. She looks up at Sansa and sees the faraway look on her face.
Biting the bottom of her lip, she opens the sheet and pulls Sansa into it before wrapping them in the sheet.
Sansa’s cool hands fall on Margaery’s waist.
Margaery looks into her blue eyes. She sees it all, the sadness and distance that makes it hard for Sansa to be happy around this time of year. She understands something’s happened to her little dove. It takes time though. Margaery tries to understand that it takes time.
She loves Sansa. So, Margaery lets a smile fall on her lips, hoping that Sansa can feel the same way she does. Because everyone has lost someone, but that never means anyone is ever alone.
Margaery tiptoes to meet Sansa’s lips. She tries not to let go of the sheet as she wraps her arms around Sansa’s shoulders. She smiles into the kiss as Sansa returns it passionately.
When they break apart for air, Margaery doesn’t let go. She brushes her nose against Sansa’s to whisper, “I love you.”
Sansa’s smile is small but for the first time, Margaery sees her blue eyes twinkle with happiness. Sansa kisses her once more and whispers, “Thank you.”