Five Times Podrick touches Sansa (or the -ing series)
I decided to try to do one of these five times that something happens and one time it (Blanks) stories.
All chapters belong in the same universe and they will be pretty much canon compliant but not chronological.
'She keeps crossing all these invisible lines with Podrick, she realizes. He’s the only other man that gets to touch her beside her brothers. He was there when she couldn't take it anymore; he was there when she wanted to fight back; today he literally picked her up.'
Falling
“There’s no need to call for the maester, I'll be alright” She told Ser Podrick for the tenth time since her stupid fall. Thank god they were alone and close enough to her room.
“Your grace,” Pod said as he helped her sit on her bed “you need to have someone see to that, it can be broken”
“It doesn’t feel broken, it just hurts” he was frustrated at her, she could tell, especially when she moved her foot and winced and he gave her that look, like he wanted to shake her but couldn’t just because she was his Queen. She would be amused if she weren’t in pain.
“Fine, your grace, would you at least let me look at it?” he gritted his teeth.
Oh he’s really annoyed, she thought. In all of her time with Podrick she had never seen him like this.
She bowed her head “yes, just let me get comfortable” and as she did she winced again, this time the pain shot through her wrist. Great.
Pod could tell and immediately rushed to support her and help her to a better position on her bed. He took her wrist in his hand, examining it putting a bit of pressure on it, she winced again.
He tried once more. “Can I call the maester now?” he asked and this time it was her turn to be annoyed, she let out a sigh and reclined on the headboard.
“Why are you being stubborn, Sansa?”
“Oh look at that, you do know my name” she teased, or tried to, except he gave her a look, no, not a look, a glare, before lowering his eyes to the wrist in question, which he took and silently proceeded to examine. He didn’t even try to correct the lack use of her title and she didn't like it one bit. It made her uneasy.
Or maybe what made her uneasy was that even though he was obviously mad at her, he kept carefully massaging her wrist, turning it in his hand, flexing her hand and making face every time she would moan or whimper instead of talking to her. He was really focused though; she couldn't help but feel warmed by his care.
When he was done he got up and made for the door, she just had time to exclaim, beg more like it,“Podrick! Come back, don’t-” but he got out.
To her relief he came back to the room a few seconds later, he seemed reluctant to come back to her bedside.
“I sent for ice” he said, resigned.
“Thank you” she said with a little bite.
“I think your wrist is going to be fine, your grace. Now let me see your ankle”
But instead of offering her foot, she brought her leg toward her torso “Are you annoyed with me, Pod?”
He huffed
“I’m n-”
She raised her eyebrow, don’t lie, it said. He took a deep breath.
“I don’t particularly enjoy seeing you in pain, my queen” he surrendered at last.
“Oh” That softened her up.
why did he have to say it like he’s the one in pain? she wondered. He really needed to stop that; it wouldn’t do for the steely queen in the north to swoon every time a knight says something nice to her.
“I just don’t understand why you won’t let me call Maester Wolken” he challenged after a few seconds of silence and more calmly.
“Because I will be fine. It was a stupid fall, I don’t need the entire castle fussing over me and gossiping about their silly queen falling down”
That softened him up “Nobody is going to gossip, and you’re not silly for taking a fall”
“Maybe” she offered but she seemed doubtful.
“I get it, you know” he said as he fell to his knees beside her, reaching for her leg. “You don’t want to seem weak. You should have said that.”
He reached for the leg softly pushing her dress up to her knee. He’s blushing and she can tell he’s refusing to look at her.
He goes back to her foot, starts to carefully remove her boot. Ouch! it hurts again. He notices.
“Shit!, I’m sorry.” and now he looks up at her with remorse all over his face.
“I don’t particularly enjoy seeing you in pain, my queen” the voice echoes in her head.
And Podrick never curses in front of her, this evening is so weird “It's alright, I was just surprised”
He finishes with her boot, her sock-clad foot is on his hand now, he puts pressure on the ankle softly. It doesn’t hurt that much. She tells him so.
“Still, I have to check for bruising”, oh he is asking for permission to remove her sock.
“Go on, then” and she realizes then that she’s perfectly capable of doing it herself, there’s no need for him to be so… serviceable. But there’s a part of her that is enjoying this.
Podrick, on his knees, taking care of her. A hot flash goes over her. Crap
She keeps crossing all these invisible lines with Podrick, she realizes. He’s the only other man that gets to touch her beside her brothers. He was there when she couldn't take it anymore; he was there when she wanted to fight back; today he literally picked her up.
“Aahhhh!” pain suddenly brings her back from her musings, was flexing and stretching the foot. It was the latter movement that made her see stars.
“Sorry.. Sorry” he apologized. She just made a face and breathed out.
“stop… apologizing”
“right... sorry” that get him an eye-roll. That’s new, at least.
“is it broken?” she asked as he kept prodding on her foot.
“It doesn’t seem like it, you can still move it, the ankle is very bruised, though, you might not be able to put weight on it for a few days.”
At some point his hands reached her calf, he wasn’t prodding anymore, more like massaging and caressing, his eyes and fingers lingering on one of her many scars.
No one had ever touched Sansa like that, it was mesmerizing, he was just so tender, it felt really really good.
It was not just her, he fell completely silent and seemed as enraptured as she was.
And, was he going to kiss her scar? Oh Gods, he was...
“Your Grace!” there was a knock on the door, one of her guard was calling.
Podrick jumped to his feet eyes wide. He looked exactly like she felt. Heart beating to a gallop, she was sure she was redder than her hair.
They must have stared at each other for a long time because there was another loud knock.
“Your Grace?”
Somehow she found her voice “One-One second, Ser Podrick Is coming”
He took her cue to go answer the door.
“ah, Carter, yes”
“The ice you requested, Ser Podrick”
“oh! Oh, yes, yes. Thank you”
“is everything alright in there?” he asked suspiciously looking inside the room to find the queen sitting on her bed.
“mmm, yes. Yes. The queen is just not feeling well …” he gestured to the bucket of ice “may I?”
“Of course. Do you need me to call master w-”
“No!...thank you, Carter” the queen said as Podrick took the ice and wrapped it in handkerchief. “You may be dismissed”.
“Very well, My Queen” and he took his leave not before throwing another suspicious glance in the direction of the knight who just stood there holding the ice in his hand.
“Right” Podrick recovered at last once the guard was gone. He gestured to the ice “we better put this on that ankle”
“Yes, we should” she smiled softly at him.
And so they returned to their previous positions. He placed the icy pack to the bruise ankle and an awkward silence fell upon them.
Podrick broke it first “I- I’m sorry, My queen” he raised his eyes to hers.
“That, before…. I- That was inappropriate I shouldn’t have t-”
She interrupted him by placing her hand on the one that was holding the pack to her foot.
“No, Podrick, No need to apologize. I-, You have been very helpful today. Thank You!”
“And you don’t need to thank me, if anything It should be I who -”
“Podrick” she shook her head, and that was that. Something had changed, between them. They both knew it. Sansa’s hand held his more firmly, her thumb rubbing circles on the back of his for a while longer.
When the ice started to melt and the water ran on her skin, it felt like the time for Podrick to go.
“I should go now, my Queen”. She bowed her head in assent as he took her hand, kissed its back, and left her with a smile on his face.
“Good Night, Pod" she managed softly before he closed the door behind him.