Game of Thrones - One Shots/Imagines: Part Three

Young!Robert Baratheon X Stark!Reader - Castle on the Hill

A/N - This chapter was sort of inspired by the song 'Castle on the Hill' by Ed Sheeran. For this story to make sense, Robert's Rebellion never happened, and all of the Stark children are still alive and well. I hope you all enjoy it.

You shouldn't be nervous. You'd reminded yourself of as much every hour or so since you had left Storms End, and yet, your stomach was still doing somersaults every time you so much as glanced out of the window of the carriage. Winterfell had been your home for your entire childhood. It had been the place you had played and learned and you remembered it with so much fondness that sometimes you forgot just how wretchedly cold it could be. 

"I've not seen the snow in so long," you hummed, your eyes still focused on the white landscape outside. In all honesty, Robert had been a little concerned about you since you had been travelling. In the years that he'd known you, ever since you were both clueless children with no understanding of the world around you, you had never been so quiet. The only moments of silence were when you slept, your soft breathing replacing your consistent chatter. But you had barely uttered a word since leaving for Winterfell, and Robert had been growing worried. And now, you were offering up the tiniest glimmer of hope; the smallest conversation starter. 

He shifted closer to you, letting his arm settle around your shoulders. "You've missed it." 

You hummed. "Don't get me wrong," you murmured, shifting to glance up at him. "I love our home," you started again. "I adore the life we have at Storms End, but I feel like Winterfell will always hold my heart."

He lifted his hand, pushing your head closer to him so that he could press a kiss to your temple. "I know, My Love." 

"Do you remember when you first came to the North?" You nestled closer into Robert's side, tucking your legs up onto your seat, a grin painting your features. "I forced you and Ned to let me tag along when you went out to play in the fields-"

Robert chuckled. "How could I forget? I was half-frozen and miserable, and you were rolling around in the snow as if the cold never even phased you." 

"You kept telling me that I would make myself sick if I didn't stop messing around," you snorted.

"And you certainly punished me for being so motherly." He lifted your hand, pressing it to his cheek. "That snowball you threw hit me right here, My Love. And you threw it so hard that, sometimes, I can almost still feel it. Almost." 

You rolled your eyes at his sentimentality, shaking your head slightly. It had been so easy to fall in love with Robert. He had been handsome, and sweet, and though he often hid it well, he was smart too. Whenever he would come to visit Ned, you would linger around them like a lost puppy, drawn to him without ever really realising it. And as you got older, he seemed to feel the same pull. 

By the time you'd turned 15, you were practically infatuated with one another, and whenever he was at Winterfell, he would make excuses to spend as much time alone with you as he possibly could. He would suddenly be too tired to go hunting with Brandon. Or he wouldn't be in the mood for a trip into the town to go drinking with the rest of the boys. And somehow, he would always end up by your side instead, no matter what you were doing. He'd spent countless evenings watching as you worked on your needlework and listening to you mutterings about whatever topic came to mind. 

And then, on his last night in Winterfell, he had kissed you. It had been a surprise, but you'd welcomed it happily, even if you were as inexperienced as they came and weren't quite sure whether you were doing it correctly. He hadn't even waited until he had reached Storms End to write to your father requesting your hand in marriage, penning the message messily on his travels. 

"You were always so damn good at throwing," he added, turning his head to press a kiss to your palm. "And if you had been one of the boys I would have given you a proper beating for it, but you looked so pretty, grinning at me all proud of yourself, that I just laughed it off. Didn't even go off swearing at you or anything." 

You chuckled, still smiling up at him. "Ned gave me enough of a telling off for both of you," you snorted. "He is going to be Lord of Storm End. He'll be Lord Paramount of the Storm Lands. You can't go hitting him in the face like that," you pressed on, doing your best impression of your brother, before shaking your head with another peel of laughter. "He clearly didn't know you well enough if he thought you were ever going to be mad at a young lady," you told him, turning to properly look at him. "Or perhaps he just forgot that I was a woman," you added.

"Ned knew me too well if anything. When we were young I never would've taken a hit like that without some overreaction, no matter who was on the other end of the snowball-" his words drifted off as he lifted his hand to touch your cheek, his thumb running over your bottom lip. "But my little lady was just so breathtaking that I couldn't imagine being mad at you, especially not when you were already giving me so much of your attention."

"I don't remember giving you all that much attention," you corrected softly. "I was so worried that the boys would tease me for fawning over you if I was too attentive, so I kept forcing myself to leave you alone, even though I wanted nothing more than to spend every waking moment with you-"

"And what about the non-waking moments?" 

A small smirk pulled at your lips, your head tilting to the side as you squinted at him. "Well, I wanted to spend those with you too, but my brothers definitely wouldn't have approved of that."

Robert chuckled, leaning in to press a kiss to your lips. "Gods, I couldn't have met a more perfect woman, could I?" he hummed as he pulled away, his eyes lingering on your features. "Beautiful. Smart. Witty. And, by the sounds of it, completely insatiable." 

"Insatiable?" you teased. "Sweetness, I think you've started describing yourself," you pressed on, squealing with laughter when he lurched forward, pressing a kiss to your neck. "Robert," you cried out through your laughter, swatting at his grabbing hands. "My Love, we're almost at Winterfell, we can't."

He grumbled against your skin, his eyes flickering up to yours. "We'll be quick," he hummed.

"As lovely as that sounds, your quick isn't really that fast," you chuckled, running your hand over his head as he pulled back slightly. "I promise that I'll make it up to you tonight, My love."

Robert hummed, pulling you in for another kiss. "I have a feeling that your promise is going to go out of the window the moment your brothers get ahold of us," he murmured, nudging your nose with his. "We'll have to make our excuses. Tell them we're tired from all of our travels-"

"Sweetness," you chastised softly. "I promise," you reiterated, cupping his bearded cheek in your palm. "And when have I ever broken one of my promises?" 

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