The Lion and the Warrior

Turning Pain to Pleasure

Jaime and Brienne walked the halls of Casterly Rock together. James was asleep in his room.

"I have something I want to show you," Jamie said, leading his wife down the hall and into a large room. Brienne had never seen so many swords in one room. She was sure the iron throne had fewer swords. There were swords mounted on the walls from top to bottom and there were at least 40 tables lined with swords from end to end. They were beautiful, ornate, and mostly made with Lannister gold and jewels.

"What is this?"

"These are ours. They were my family's swords from the earliest generation until today and they are all ours. Someday, they will be for our children. We do plan on having more, right?"

"It's a bit soon for that, don't you think?" She looked skeptical.

"I had this..." He lead her to a glass case where there was a sword made of Valyrian Steel, rose gold, decorated with sapphires and rubies, "made for you."

"You had this made for me?"

"I hope you like it."

"It's beautiful, Jaime!"

"I wanted you to have something new and special."

"You've given me Oath Keeper. I haven't given you..."

"I have you, and you've given me our children. That's all I need."

She kissed him. It was the first time they had kissed passionately since the birth of the twins and it felt so good, they couldn't stop. He held her close to him and stroked her face. "I miss you." He said.

"I miss you too."

He smiled and lifted the glass cover off the sword.

"Pick it up."

"This feels so good. I missed this almost as much as I have missed you." She smiled.

"I was hoping you'd say that." He picked up the sword next to it. The swords were nearly identical; his was also Valyrian Steel, with Lannister Gold, rubies and sapphires. "Shall we?" he asked.

"It's been a while." She answered.

"I won't cut you."

"I'll try not to kill you." she replied.

They went out to the court yard. The sun was hidden behind the clouds, and a breeze blew lightly.

"All the best swords have names you know." he said, in a familiar way.

"So I've been told. How about, Saphira?"

"I think its perfect." He said.

"Is that why you had this made?"

He held up his sword, "Twins."

She held up her sword, "I really need this."

"I can tell. Let's go."

They began the fight. It was as though every feeling for the last three months was expressed in this one fight. They battled for nearly an hour with ferocity, hatred, and anger, dancing around each other and clashing swords until finally they both threw down their weapons. Neither the winner, neither the loser, but simply exhausted and both ready to surrender to each other. They both had tears in their eyes. He turned away from her and began to walk away.

"What are you doing? Where are you going?" She asked.

He stopped and turned to her, "I am trying to be strong for you...day after day. I needed to be strong and I can't go anymore."

"I don't need Valyrian Steel, I need you to show me who you are and what you feel. I need to know that I am not alone in this hell I find myself in. I don't want this for us. More than that, I don't want this for you, Jaime. But I need you to be truthful with me in what you feel so we can face this together."

"I can't fight this." he said as though he were defeated.

"Then don't," she said, "Just let go." They wrapped their arms around each other and kissed, "When is this all going to go away...and we can just be us again?" she asked.

"We will never be us again. But we will be whole again...and when we are, we will better than we were," he answered.

"I need you," she softly said, looking into his eyes.

He smiled and kissed her. "Come with me."

He took her hand and walked to a cove near the ocean. Inside was a warm lagoon, where the sun shone down in beams of light. They took their clothes off and got in the warm water. Their tongues mingled slowly and their hands explored each other's bodies as though it was the first time they touched each other. They savored every moment, every kiss, every move.

"I don't want to hurt you," he said catching his breath.

"I don't care. Hurt me."

"Brienne..."

"Hurt me." She looked into his eyes, caressed his face and kissed him, "Take the hurt away from my heart and make me feel something else for a while. Sometimes pain can become pleasure."

He began to make love to her and they felt as though they were spinning. It had been at least 4 months since they had been together and this moment was so important to both of them. They missed each other's touch, they missed their physical and emotional connection to one another, and they had never needed each other more.