GoT One-Shots Book 3!

Countdown (Tyrion Lannister x fem!reader) Soulmate AU

You hated the clock on your wrist. It mocked you. Working in the Red Keep, you met hundreds of people. One of them had to be your soulmate. Yet not one single person who had touched you in some way had set off the timer. The countdown was still going. The only good news was that it was running down. You would touch your soulmate very soon. And then you would wish you hadn't.

You had been "promoted" in essence from kitchen wench to chambermaid when Lady Sansa married Lord Tyrion. You worked closely with her handmaiden Shae, both trying to keep the young girl out of Cersei and Joffrey's paths. It was a nice job. Better than working the kitchens where it always seemed to be sweltering hot. You avoided the kitchens at all costs except when you needed to take food trays down. Like now.

Knocking on the door, you plastered a smile on your face when you heard someone bid you to enter. "Good evening, Lord Tyrion," you greeted. Sansa was not in the room, but that wasn't unusual. She usually took a turn around the gardens with Margaery and Shae after supper. As always, you grabbed Sansa's dishes first and then Tyrion's. This time, however, when you pulled back your arm to place the dishes on your tray, you brushed against Tyrion.

The obvious sound of two soulmate clocks chiming echoed through the room. You dropped the tray in your surprise and barely heard the sound of glasses breaking. It couldn't be. Tyrion couldn't be your soulmate. There was absolutely no way the gods would hate you that much.

It wasn't that you didn't like Tyrion. It was one of the best people you had met. But he was married. True, it was arranged, but Tyrion had the chance for many other lovers. Why should he choose you? You couldn't possibly stand a chance with him, soulmate or not. Without thinking or saying a word, you darted from the room as tears gathered your eyes.

"Y/N, wait!" Tyrion called. You wanted to keep running, really you did. Years of servitude had ingrained in you the inability to disobey orders though, so you stopped. You slowly turned to glance down at the man who was your soulmate. "Come back to the room, please. We need to discuss this." You didn't speak as you followed him back, just like he knew you would.

As soon as the door closed behind you, Tyrion faced you again. "Why did you run? I realize I am not what you were expecting in a soulmate, but you wound a man's ego running off like that." You could barely crack a smile at his attempt at humor. His own smile fell as he waited for you to finally speak.

"I can't do this," you whispered, "You're married. We can't be soulmates. Surely the gods would not punish me like this after making me wait so long to find my soulmate." Tyrion arched a brow. "I'm not sure the gods had as much to do with our current situation as my father did." With a huff, you crossed your arms over your chest.

"This isn't funny! How can you be so calm about this?" you snapped. Tyrion sighed. He walked over and reached up hoping you would give him your hand. You did and a warmth spread through you that you tried to ignore. "The gods, if there are any, have paired us together for a reason, Y/N. There is nothing anyone can do about that. Not Sansa. Not Cersei. Not my father. We were made for one another."

"If that were true, you would not be married now and we would be free to explore this," you fired back. You tugged your hand from his and turned away from him. The tears you'd tried holding back were falling now. How had everything your life ended up this way? How had it come to this? So many thoughts and questions bounced around in your head until Tyrion's voice brought you back to reality.

"Who's to say we aren't?" he asked. Your brows furrowed. "What?" Tyrion's own face wore an expression of concentration. "We could be together. We would just have to be careful." You laughed in disbelief and shook your head. "No. I-I can't. I can't break apart a marriage like that. I won't. Some things, no matter what people think, just aren't meant to be." You began to walk away.

"You know what will happen if we ignore this," Tyrion said, his voice soft, "The pain will eventually become unbearable." You glanced back at him over your shoulder. "Yes. But I would rather suffer through the pain than put you or Lady Sansa in danger by coming between you. I shall resign my post and leave King's Landing in the morning. Good-bye, Tyrion. Be well."

Your heart clenched as you walked away, but you knew you were doing the right thing. Soulmate or not, Tyrion was married and, while there was no love between him and his wife, you knew that if anything happened, they would both be in danger of Joffrey's wrath. It was knowing that you were keeping him safe that made it easier for you to leave. Maybe someday the world would be different. Maybe in another life you and Tyrion could truly be soulmates, but for now, you would do what was best for him and his safety, no matter how badly your own heart was breaking.