GoT One-Shots Book 3!

Cottage By the Sea(Sandor x reader)

Sandor shot up from a dead sleep, drenched in sweat. Another nightmare. He'd been having them for as long as he could remember, but the last five years had been the worst. Since the Great War between Cersei and Daenerys and Sandor's near confrontation with his brother, the nightmares had plagued him more and more.

It took Sandor a moment to realize exactly why he had woken up. He usually slept until the nightmares played through. Then, he felt something moving between his bare shoulder and back. A hand that he knew very well. He glanced back at you and you gave him a soft smile. "Was it bad?" you asked. Sandor simply huffed in response, but you didn't let that bother you. You knew him better than anyone by now.

"Go take a walk. Peek in on the children. Take a ride. Then come back to me and we'll talk. Okay?" Sandor nodded and rose from the bed you shared. He did as you suggested and peeked in on the children you'd adopted together before he left your little cottage to walk for bit. Sandor went down to shore and walked along the shoreline, letting his thoughts wander.

The dream had really shaken him to the core. There wasn't much Sandor was truly scared of in life, but losing you was one of those things. It was thanks to you that he was even still alive. He knew that. You had convinced him that going after Gregor wasn't worth it, even after all the years of waiting. It was you who had given him a chance to live a simple, quiet life. It was you who had made that little cottage a home and helped him fill it with children and laughter. Sandor had everything he hadn't known he wanted and he would have missed it all if not for you. You had saved him.

Sandor glanced back at the cottage just as the sun began to rise. He quietly walked back inside and toward your room. As Sandor expected, you were waiting up for him. You gave him a tired smile and opened up your arms. Sandor wasted no time in climbing back into bed, eager to enjoy a few more minutes alone with you before the children began waking.

"Will you tell what it was about?" you asked after a moment. Sandor hummed a bit before sighing heavily. "I lost you. I went after Gregor and I lost you." You tightened your arms around him and he continued, "You saved me. You know that? You kept me alive with your stubbornness." You let out a soft chuckle.

"I think we saved each other," you stated but Sandor shook his head. "We wouldn't have this if I had gone after Gregor that day. I would be dead and you would married off to someone else." You shrugged and mentioned something about the gods. "The gods didn't give me this, Y/N. You did." You blinked in surprise. Sandor wasn't normally this open, even with you. That was when you knew exactly how much that dream had frightened him. You placed a soft kiss to his unscarred cheek.

"If you're happy now, that's all that matters," you told him, "Gregor is gone. He can't cast a shadow over us any longer. You, my love, are a free man. You have your life, me, our children. And nothing, not war, not the gods, nothing will take that from you as long as I have anything to say about it. Alright?"

Your words seemed to do the trick. Sandor let out a happy sigh and pulled you down to lay with him again. In a few moments, the sun would begin shining through the children's windows and they would be awake. But for now, the two of you could enjoy your time together. You continued to hold him close, whispering how much you loved him and Sandor felt himself drifting back to sleep in your arms.