A Rest of Swords

Part one

Stupid game, Brienne thought angrily as she put another log of wood on the fireplace. Stupid Lannisters. Who do they think they are?

Yes, she was mad, but actually not about Tyrion or Jaime, she was mad about herself, because this situation had made her feel as it had and that made her furious. But being angry with someone else was much easier, so she concentrated her rage towards them.
He shouldn't have asked such a thing. What did he want to achieve?, she asked herself. Perhaps exactly what he got... And Jaime. He just sat there. Why didn't he-

A knock at the door disturbed her thoughts. She assumed it would be Podrick who had followed her after she had left so very discreetly. Ready to send him away with a lie about how fine she was, she opened the door and...

"You didn't drink", Jaime said and entered without invitation.

"I didn't drink?", she asked and closed the door, knowing that it wouldn't be of much success to ask him to leave.

"In the game. You didn't drink", he clarified without it being necessary. She knew exactly what he was talking about, she just didn't want to talk about it.

"I drank."

"In the game", he repeated as if that would explain anything.

"This is not a game", she replied evasively, watching him as he poured some of the wine he had brought with him into two goblets. "This is only drinking." Jaime ignored her comment and held one of the goblets out to her.

"Suit yourself", he said and Brienne took the wine from him and brought the cup to her lips, not even knowing why she did as he asked. She felt his gaze on her as she drank and when she put the cup down, their eyes met for only a second before he looked away, a bit too hurriedly for it to have been by chance.

"You keep it warm enough in here", he stated and freed himself from his coat.

"It's the first thing I learned when I came to the North. Keep the fire going. Every time you leave the room, put more wood on." It was a dull thing to say, she knew, but her head didn't seem to work properly with his coat lying on her bed.

"Well, that's very diligent. Very responsible", Jaime heard his own voice and scolded himself for mocking her in the next second. But that was their usual way of dealing with one another, and somehow, it made him even feel more at ease when she spat back at him.

"Oh, piss off!"

"You know the first thing I learned in the North?", he asked, winning confidence from the triviality of the conversation.
"I hate the fucking North."

"It has grown on you", Brienne replied to his surprise.
No, he thought, you did.

"I don't want things growing on me", he told her, not willing to let her know the truth behind her words. But now that she had led the conversation in this direction, what could he lose by continuing?
"What about Tormund Giantsbane?", he asked therefore, his name like a disgusting taste on his tongue, "Has he grown on you? He was very sad when you left.."

"You sound quite jealous", Brienne stated, sounding no less surprised and confused than he felt by her noticing.
No drawing back now, then...

"I do, don't I?", he said, alarmed by his realization how right she was. Brienne stared at him but didn't reply or react in any other way, and he wasn't sure if he was glad about it or not. He wasn't sure about anything at this moment, to be honest, not even what provoked him to do what he did next.
"It's bloody hot in here", Jaime said again without having intended to and felt how the fingers of his remaining hand fumbled with the laces of his shirt. Clumsy as he was with only the left hand, he had to make use of his teeth as well, but with only little result. Brienne watched him for a while, her expression absolutely impossible for him to read, maybe because she wasn't sure about her feelings either.