Game of Thrones - One Shots/Imagines: Part Three

Jojen Reed X Stark!Reed - Hold My Girl: Requested

A/N - This chapter was requested by user: always_the_flood. It is based on the song 'Hold My Girl' by George Ezra. I hope you all enjoy it.

You had taken to sitting away from the rest of your group whenever you got the chance. When you had been living at Winterfell you had enjoyed spending time on your own, hiding away in your chambers for hours at a time with a book, or a sketch book. But now, there was no privacy left in the world. At every moment, there was someone at your side. Every day you were surrounded by the same people. Even when you slept you were trapped with the others. 

It's not that you didn't like them. You loved Bran with all of your heart, and Hodor had been a part of your life for far longer than you could remember. But, the Reeds were a different story. You were certain you had met them once before, when you were all children, but other than that, they were strangers; strangers who insisted on you not wandering off, even when you were ready to implode from the social interactions. 

When you first ventured beyond the wall, you had considered leaving Bran with them. You could so easily have gone elsewhere with Rickon and Osha. Plenty of northern houses would have offered you refuge. But the idea of abandoning him now was too much, and you had gone north of the wall with little hesitation.

You sighed as you watched Meera slump into the snow, stretching out her limbs as you continued moving towards the tree line. "Could you stay in eyesight this time? Almost lost you last time," she uttered, barely lifting her head to look at you as she spoke. 

You shot her a sharp glare, wishing you could say something to make her understand that this way of living didn't suit you without coming across as a spoilt child. "Not my fault you weren't watching me properly," you finally muttered, continuing into the trees just a few feet. Even this was better than sitting out in the opening with them. Even this gave you some semblance of privacy. 

A throat clearing caught your attention, drawing your eyes over to where Jojen was leaning against another tree trunk. "How're you doing?" 

"Fine." It was the easiest answer you could come up with; the quickest way of getting rid of him.

"You aren't going to go disappearing on us again, are you?"

You released a heavy sigh, rolling your eyes as you shifted on the spot. "I came back again, didn't I?"

"Thankfully unscathed." You swallowed, lowering your gaze to the dirty snow as you kicked up the dirt underneath. "You don't like travelling with us."

A small snort escaped you as you lifted your eyes to meet his. "Don't take it personally; I don't like travelling with anyone. I enjoy my creature comforts."

"Don't you get lonely?"

You shook your head. "I like being alone," you murmured, lifting your hand to your mouth to chew at your thumbnail. "Gives me time to think and unwind."

"I understand," he told you softly. "I get like that sometimes. My head gets all cluttered and I just need time to unpack it all."

This time a real smile pulled at your lips. "Yeah, something like that."

"Well, we'll get you somewhere quiet and warm as soon as we can. Give you a little privacy," he continued, giving you a sweet half-smile before pushing off of the tree and moving back over to the rest of your group. 

*Time Skip*

Even when you reached your destination, there was little privacy to be found. There was only so much that could be done in a cave surrounding a bunch of tree roots. The only benefit was that everyone seemed too busy to pay you any attention. You could spend entire days just sitting around thinking without being bothered. And on occasion, Jojen had made sure to go out into the wilderness with you, only wandering so far, in complete silence, before turning back and going back inside. 

"I like walking with you," he had told you one afternoon as you did a lap of your current accommodation. You hummed your agreement, still engrossed in your own thoughts. "It's not like being with the others. I can still think with you here."

You lifted your head, sending him a small smile as you zoned back into the conversation. "I look forward to these moments every day," you added, shaking your head slightly. "It's comfortable."

"When we go home, I'd like to keep spending time with you," he told you softly. "I mean, we could keep walking together, or we could take tea, or-"

A small chuckle escaped you as you glanced over at him. "That sounds lovely." A second later, you were reaching out for him and drawing him into a kiss. 

When you pulled away, Jojen lifted his fingertips to his lips, brushing over them ever so lightly as he smiled at you. "Wow."

"I'm sorry, I just-"

"Please don't apologise." You nodded, falling silent. "I would very much like to keep doing that when we get home, too."

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