Author: Veridissima on AO3/FF (thestagthatlovedthewolf on tumblr)
Ship(s): Cassana x Steffon [mentions of Aerys x Rhaella, and Joanna x Tywin]
Brief Summary: Cassana’s boss agreed to a business meeting in a bar, during stand-up night, and she couldn’t have imagined how that night would change her life.
Cassana Estermont was going over her notes for the last time before her business meeting that evening. The meeting was once again in a stupid bar – better than the strip club from last week – the last time she had brought it up to her boss, he laughed and told her that if they ever did business with a woman they would be sure to go to the mall – Cassana didn’t even bother talking to him about it again, or suggest their actual office as a meeting place.
“Are you ready, girl?” her boss asked, moving pass her with three junior partners. If she was lucky, she could make junior partner by the end of this year (even if she thought he was only choosing her because she was a woman, and that would make him look more progressive than the other firms in the city).
She got her bag, pushing her papers quickly inside it and followed them out the building to a limousine; champagne cups were passed around – her boss said that pre-celebrating upped their morals for the actual meeting.
The bar was in an unusual place for a business meeting, a place in the city her boss wouldn’t probably like to be caught on, but she knew the place, sort of… because even if her apartment was near, she was never there.
“What are we doing here?” one of her coworkers asked.
“This was the place he agreed to meet us on.”
They all left the car, and made it to the bar, none of her coworkers was gentleman enough to hold the door or chair for her; they were still waiting for the their possible-partner to arrive when they realized it was stand-up night.
There were two men this time, usually they only talked to one of them, but since this may be the close meeting, it made sense that they both decided to come.
Her boss introduced everyone at the table, and they reminded us of their names – Tywin Lannister and Aerys Targaryen.
“Sorry for the place. But you insisted on the night, and we already had a previous arrangement,” Mr Lannister apologized still not taking his seat. “I requested a private table for us – it can get quite noisy in here, we will just need to step out for an act.”
Cassana thought that it was weird that this business like men would like stand-up comedy, but she wasn’t going to ask them; instead she followed them to the private room backstage, and then the meeting started.
The meeting should be mostly about crossing the Ts and dotting the Is, but these men were more responsible, they had brought the propose contract with notes, things to alter and take out. Her boss couldn’t deny the changes, since the things they wanted to change were her boss’ least ethical paragraphs.
The men didn’t want or need many opinions, they came and they knew what they wanted to leave with, and there was nothing her boss could do about it, he accepted most of Mr Targaryen and Mr Lannister’s prepositions. As they had promised they only excused themselves during one act, when a black haired and blue eyed man came into the room.
They left the room after asking them if anyone wanted to come with them, two of her coworkers stood, but her boss held one of them off.
“You go, Cassana, a pretty face never hurt a deal.”
They shared a small table with Mr Targaryen and Mr Lannister on the first row, that it had been held reversed for the entire night. The man on the stage was the same that had called on the private room; the black haired, blue eyed man introduced himself as Steffon.
Cassana didn’t think that he was that funny, sure not all the jokes were dry but some were (but not enough to be booed out of the stage), and at least he didn’t seem to resort to sexist jokes. But Tarth, the only coworker who came outside too, laughed through most of the act; while Mr Targaryen and Mr Lannister didn’t seem to laugh at the jokes, even in the later smiled a few times, but at the end both clapped, before they both stood up and went back to the private room.
Back at the table, the deal was quickly finished and closed, and as her boss talked about getting a couple of drinks for the table to celebrate, she excused herself, and left for the bathroom.
“The hard part is done,” she told herself, as she washed her hands. After she left the bathroom, she went back to the private room, but it was empty; she looked into the main room, and no one she recognized was there either.
“If you’re looking for the people that were in the private room, they left,” the black-haired, blue-eyed man from the stand-up act said.
“Where?” she asked, as she stepped outside.
“I think your boss said strip club. Also he said he didn’t need to wait for a woman because she had her monthly.”
“I was in the bathroom for two minutes, for fuck’s sake,” she cursed, looking at the empty street, when a waitress from inside came out
“Wait, you can’t leave!! You still need to pay for the expenses.”
“What?”
“Your boss also asked me to tell you that you need to pay.”
“Right.”
She moved inside the bar again, and asked for the bill – which was more expensive than she first thought.
“I could buy you a drink,” the same black-haired, blue-eyed man offered. She didn’t know how to answer, while a drink sounded really good now, she wasn’t really in the mood to be hit on.
“Okay, but just one,” she answered. It ended up being more than one drink, and she got to find out a bit more about him.
His name was Steffon, he was funnier now than during his stand-up act, and he was a refreshing change from the guys she usually talked to. And he was also the reason for the meeting location, it seemed Mr Lannister and Mr Targaryen were childhood friends of his, that never missed his performances.
“I’m glad you got the deal,” he said. “Tywin and Aerys were looking forward to it – even if they think your boss is a jerk.”
“He is. But the deal will be good for the firm.”
“Yeah. Let’s just hope your boss doesn’t do anything stupid. Tywin hates strip clubs; Aerys doesn’t mind it that much, but he does have a wife and a kid at home.”
“Do you have someone at home?” That’s flirting, Cassana, she told herself.
“Nah… I used to have a roommate, but he moved out last month. I’m looking for someone – I can’t cover the rent by myself.” Not really flirting back, she realized, and she wondered if she was loosing her charm. “What about you?”
“Living alone. Really small apartment, close by, actually.”
“I can walk you home.”
“Are you trying to get rid of me?”
“I meant when you finish your drinks.” Steffon told her.
“Yeah, you can walk me home, Steffon,” she told him smiling. “And I think this is my last drink.”
After that, Cassana told the bartender to add their drinks to the company bill, and paid for that. Steffon went to pick up his things from backstage, as she waited for him at the door.
He was a good walker, their steps fell in place, and he even gave her his sports jacket when she mentioned that she was feeling cold in her stupid skirt suit. As she came closer to her apartment, she started wondering if she should invite him up or not – she was having fun with him… but she was also really tired.
“The next door is me,” she told him, and he immediately slowed down.
“Ohhh… okay… so I guess you should go up.”
“Yeah… I think so…”
Steffon stood weirdly on the same place, as they reached her door, he didn’t even make a move to kiss her, he just stood there. Cassana looked for her key in her bag, when she realized she still had his jacket, and took it off.
“Thanks for the jacket, and for walking me home.”
“No problem. It was a pleasure meeting you. Bye.”
“Bye,” she said, turning to the door, as he walked back from where they had come from, when she stopped herself and stopped him too. “Hey!! Wait…”
“Yes,” he said, looking back at her, with an excited smile on his face.
“Are you free tomorrow afternoon?” she asked him. If he wasn’t going to ask, she could.
“Yes. Would you like to go out for lunch? I can pick you up here.”
“I would like that very much. Midday??”
“Midday sounds good. I’ll see you tomorrow, Cassana.”
“Tomorrow, Steffon.” With that, she entered her building with a smile on her face.
***
Steffon should already have left his apartment, but he was still trying to get in touch with Joanna who hadn’t picked not even one of the thousand phonecalls he made.
“Answer the fucking phone, please…” he asked holding the cell to his ear one more time, when it rang, indicating another call – Tywin.
“Could you stop calling my wife?”
“I need to ask her for a favour.”
“What do you need from my wife?”
“I need an extra ticket for her play tonight.”
“Why?”
“I have a date, with Cassana.”
“Who?”
“The woman from your meeting yesterday.”
“Really?! She looked a bit dull – she didn’t say anything.”
“Her boss is a jerk; I don’t think he would have appreciated the comments.”
“Yes, he is. Really hopefully we can talk with his associates, instead of him. And yes, I’ll talk with Joanna to get you the extra ticket. If there are any problems, I’ll text you.”
“Okay,” Steffon answered, but Tywin had already turned off the call – he always had the habit of not saying goodbye on the phone.
Looking at the clock, he knew that if he wasn’t late, he would arrive right on time, and not a minute earlier. But he wasn’t even lucky for that to happen; firstly he was approached by someone trying to sell him something, who wouldn’t leave him alone; and secondly, the subway stopped in the middle of the track, just two stops from her house.
So when he finally arrived, he was sweaty and tired; and Cassana looked disappointed, sitting on the steps of her building.
“I would have rang,” was the first thing he got out, when he reached her, trying to fix his hair and clothes.
As she stood up, he saw how beautiful she looked, her brown hair was down with a single yellow hairband, she had a white and yellow summer dress and flats on her feet.
“I thought it would be easier for you to see me. I thought you may be lost. It was dark yesterday after all.”
“I’m sorry I’m late,” he said between deep breaths. “The subway and a guy, and… we can go now,” he told her, still heavy breathing.
“Do you want to go up? You can freshen yourself up in the bathroom, and maybe a cup of water.” He wished he could say no, but water would feel really good right now.
“If you don’t mind,” he said sheepishly.
“I don’t.” Cassana held the door to him, and they walked up the stairs to her apartment. She had been right, her apartment was really small, from the door he could see everything. “The bathroom is… the only door.”
The bathroom was small too, but kind of adorable, he threw water on his face, and took a bit of toilet paper to suck in the sweat. Cassana had a cup of water for him when he left the bathroom.
“Are you feeling any better?”
“Yeah. Just a bit tired.” She pointed to the bed, for him to take a seat, and he did, just long enough to finish the cup of water. “We should leave.”
“You’re ready?” she asked.
“I’m so sorry for the delay, and coming in tired and sweaty.”
“You’re sweaty and tired because you tried to get here on time, after the subway… stopped, right?”
“Yes.” He stood up, and they left her apartment; now he did the same walk to the subway station, but this time he walked and now ran. And as the night before, they walked well together, the footsteps at the same pace.
He talked to her a bit more about his stand-up act, telling her that wasn’t exactly what he wanted to do, but he also didn’t know what to do. Cassana smiled at him, but told him that she had known she wanted to have her own business since she was a kid, and had her first lemonade stand.
“So why don’t you have your own business?”
“Money, mostly. And I do like what I do, even if my boss is an asshole.”
“You could be your own boss.”
“Yeah, and hopefully someday that will happen,” she told him. “Now can you tell me where are we going, or at least in what stop are we getting off.”
“Visenya’s Hill. There are some good cafes there, I thought we could get something to eat there.” She didn’t answer his suggestion, so Steffon came out with his plan B. “Or we can go to an actual restaurant if you prefer.”
“A cafe would be good, don’t worry,” she smiled, and scooted a bit closer to him (maybe because more people entered the carriage, but still…)
She kept herself close to him, her hand lightly on his arm as they left the subway, and then searched for a good place to eat. The place was clearly a touristy place, with the Great Sept of Baelor on the top, and around it all kind of places to eat, they read the menus, until they found an agreeable place.
They chose the food together so they could share – it was Cassana’s suggestion, one Steffon was happy to oblige, since he hadn’t gotten to share food in years. They got some dornish peppers for an entrée, and then they ordered one sandwich and one wrap to share, and two beers, of course.
It was also different that she had taken a seat next to him, instead of across for him, but she said she liked to see the people and the view.
“Really I moved here after college, but I rarely get to actually see the city.”
“Where are you from?”
“Greenstone, in the Stormlands.”
“Ohhh… I’m from Storm’s End. You’ve completely lost your accent.”
“Are you sure?” she asked with a Stormlands accent, smiling. “I don’t use it that much here. But when I go home it slips on so easily.”
“Do you go home with frequency?”
“Holidays, mostly. You?”
“I try to go back a few times. But I only stay longer for the holidays.”
“Ohhh… did you go to university in Storm’s End? I went there, we may even been on the same year.”
“Nah… I came to King’s Landing then, with Tywin and Aerys. They used to share the apartment with me, but they are shacked up now.”
“Yeah, it sucks being the only friend single,” she complained, as she picked up one of the peppers the waitress just brought to their table.
“Are you?”
“What?!”
“The only single friend, I mean,” he clarified.
“Back home, fifty/fifty. But I don’t have many friends in the city; I’m mostly at the office – even during the weekends.”
Talking while eating the dornish peppers got a bit harder, since they got burned almost every time, leading to them ordering two more beers when the main dishes were brought in.
Each of them took half of the other’s food, he ended up having to pick up the avocado piece by piece from the wrap.
“You could have told me you didn’t like avocado,” she told him.
“I didn’t know, I had never tried it before. I just normally don’t order food with stuff I don’t know, but you seemed excited about the wrap.”
“It’s really good, including the avocado. Ohhh… and if you want my share of the sandwich.”
“No, thanks. This is good,” he told her. He certainly didn’t mind taking off what he didn’t like – the wrap was really good like that. “Do you excuse me?” he asked when his phone rang, and then let a celebratory sound.
“What is it?”
“I got an extra ticket for a friend’s play – I was hoping you would go with me.”
“Sure, of course. Is it right after lunch?”
“No, we can still walk a bit.”
“There’s an art show in the Sept – not actually in the Sept, but close by. It may be interesting.”
“Okay, we can take a look at that,” he agreed – he would go anywhere she wanted, Cassana was worth it.
After they finished eating, he asked if she wanted dessert, but she said no, and then he offered to pay, which she also didn’t let him do – going with each paying half.
“If you insist you can pay for dessert.”
“But you said you didn’t want dessert…” he commented confused, and picking up the dessert menu.
“Not now. We can go for ice-cream after the art show.” He smiled at her, agreeing with her suggestion.
Once again, she took his arm as they walked to Sept. It turned the exhibition was actually inside the Sept, a modern interpretation of famous religious works – there were some works that probably more conservative members of the Seven Gods religion wouldn’t accept, but somehow they were still up in the biggest Sept in the country.
Cassana liked the paintings, Steffon not so much – they looked too strange and weird; and so she mocked him for his ancient thoughts on art, and lack of appreciation for the newer styles of art. Her comments were a bit too loud and they left the Sept under the judging eyes of the Septon and the Silent Sisters.
“Are you a religious man?” she asked him, already outside.
“I used to go to the sept every week when I was young. I was even in the chorus. But no, I do not consider myself a religious man.”
“So you never go to the sept now?”
“I still pray sometimes, if the reason calls for it – a good reason, I don’t think it’s fair for me to ask the Gods for small things if I pray so little. So I think the last time I prayed was when Rhaella was in labor with Rhaegar,” he told her. “And I still go to confession every year – on the last week of December.”
“I’ve never been inside a sept for more than to appreciate the art – architecture and the painted glass. And for weddings, of course, and even that – not many. Estermont is a small island.”
“What do you used to do during Sunday mornings?” he asked her, he always wondered, since he always spent his at the sept.
“Morning cartoons, with my parents; and chocolate pancakes with yogurt and fruit,” she said smiling, it was clear that those were good memories.
After that he asked her about her family, and she spoke, always with smiles, and it was obvious she missed them. He wondered if he would ever get to meet them.
They were on the other side of King’s Landing, when they finally stopped for ice cream. She ordered two balls in a cup – cookie and pistachio – and he ordered one chocolate ball in a cone. He gave her a taste of the chocolate, and a bit of the cone’s cookie for her cup, and he tried the cookie ice cream (but not the pistachio – that’s a weird colour for ice cream, according to him).
“Where’s the play?”
“The Red Keep Palace,” he answered her. “It’s about…”
“Don’t tell me, I like being surprised,” she said, stopping him, and this time she took his actual hand.
They walked slowly to the Red Keep, with Cassana insisting to look into a few shops – never taking too long, but too long by his standards; but they still had time when they got to the Red Keep, so they roamed through the gardens together.
“Highgarden are supposed to have the most beautiful gardens, maybe we can go there someday,” Cassana said, and he smiled at the thought that she has been imagining getaways together.
“I think I would like that.” Steffon lied, while he did like the garden, the smells weren’t really good for him, he supposed it was light allergies or something.
Cassana had so much fun, pointing out stuff, knowing the names of almost everything, or pretending she did, taking the time to look into the small paper with the names – he just pretended he didn’t see those times.
At the end of the park, they stayed a bit on the playground, in the swings, but stopped when people started looking.
“It’s almost time. They must have arrived already,” Steffon said and took her hand. He had been right, and Tywin, Rhaella, Aerys and young Rhaegar were at the entry; Steffon could already hear Tywin questioning Rhaella about bringing her young son.
“Rhaegar is a quiet baby, Tywin. You know that,” Rhaella argued. “Ohhh… look… Steffon has arrived, and he brought a beautiful lady with him. Behave, boys,” she told her husband, and his partner.
“This beautiful lady here is Rhaella,” Steffon started by introducing. “And this handsome lad is Rhaegar,” he said, playing with the boy’s cheek. “And this is Cassana. You may remember her from last night, Tywin, Aerys.”
“Mr Lannister and Mr Targaryen, it’s a pleasure to see you again. And Mrs Targaryen, a pleasure to meet you, and you have a beautiful son.”
“Thank you. And call me Rhaella, please. And call them Tywin and Aerys – you’re here as our friend’s date.”
“Thank you. And are you sure you don’t mind?” Cassana asked again, and under Rhaella’s eyes, they both said they didn’t mind.
“But of course, at your firm…”
“Yes. I would never step over those bounds,” she promised. And after awhile they entered the building, Cassana walked with Rhaella, both gushing over Rhaegar.
“She looks better today than yesterday,” Aerys commented.
“She does,” Tywin agreed. “Let’s see if she’s smarter than yesterday too.”
“Please, don’t make comments like that. Cassana is both beautiful and smart, and other things too,” he argued. “Now come on, your wife is waiting,” he told Tywin.
***
For the last few days, Cassana couldn’t help but find her mind drift to Steffon and their Saturday together. She had enjoyed their time together and the play had been great, so were his friends; he had had dinner with his friends after the play, after having the Lannister drop her at home.
They had tried to make plans since then, but she always had to cancel – she hoped he didn’t think badly of her – but they talked on the phone everyday, still getting to know each other.
“Cassana, do you have the papers on those cases we got from the Lannister/Targaryen firm?”
“I’m still going over them,” she told Selwyn.
“Do you need any help?”
“Sure. Any help is welcome.” Selwyn took a seat in front of her and they started to go over the files, only stopping to ask for one of the interns to get them something from the vending machine – they ended up sharing two bags of chips and a chocolate bar, before the evening was over.
“Do you want to get something to eat?” he asked when they were already at the elevator.
“That would be great. I’m not in the mood to go home and still look for food.”
“The diner on the next block?”
“Seems good,” she agreed as they walked out of the building, and she ran into a familiar face. “Steffon!!”
“Hi,” he stood up and smiled at her.
“How long have you be here?”
“Since 7.30 pm,” he admitted – it was almost 10 pm now. “I think your secretary was getting creeped out, so I moved outside after 9 pm.”
“You’ve been here on the cold for an hour?! Why?!”
“You said you got out late, so we didn’t have time to go out. So I decided to get dinner for you,” he said, holding up a bag of Chinese food.
“You’re sweet. Thank you,” she said, kissing his cheek; before remembering that Selwyn was still with her. “Ohhh… Selwyn, Steffon. You know, he actually laughed during your stand-up act.”
“Ahhh!!! That’s from where I recognize your face,” Selwyn said. “And Cassana, I think you have better plans for dinner now – I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“I’m sorry, Selwyn. See you tomorrow.” She waved as he walked away, in the direction of the diner. “So what do you have to offer me for dinner? I had a great offer of a burger and fries that I passed on for your company.”
“It’s a surprise that probably won’t beat burgers and fries. Since it will have to be reheated in the microwave,” he told her and they started walking to the metro station.
The ride was direct to her apartment, and quick, but she still took advantage of having a companion to rest her head on his shoulder. He got her up when they were close to her stop, and then helped make the slow walk to her apartment and even get the door.
At home, she left to take a quick shower, to clean up and wake up, as he fixed up dinner. At the shower, she had cleaned all her make up – but she believed she didn’t look that bad without it – and she wondered what clothes she should wear – she really didn’t want to get into a dress or anything, but really sweatpants and a t-shirt was not that great for a second/third date.
She settled in a top and shorts – sure not that good for a date, but her legs looked good so that may pay off – it did; when Steffon looked over them he looked amazed.
“Dinner is ready,” Steffon told her, holding the chair for her. He had separated the food between the two plates, and had a cup of wine ready for each of them.
The food wasn’t great, but still good; and the company was the best. Steffon could tell she was tired, so he didn’t ask her too many questions, letting her be happy just listening to him. After dinner, they put the dishes away together, after that he asked her if she wanted to watch television, but since she was too tired, she said no.
“So maybe I should go,” Steffon suggested, starting to look for his jacket.
“Or maybe you could stay,” she told him, reaching for his hand. “I do get up early, so… you’ll have to get up early – if you…”
“I don’t mind. I would like to stay the night,” he told her, and she smiled, taking his hand.
***
Cassana’s alarm clock woke him up, she got up immediately after it rang, leaving for the bathroom. Steffon just wanted to go back to sleep, but he did promise her that he could get up early and leave the house with her.
It hadn’t been a great first night together, they went to bed together, and they kissed and touched and everything – which was good; but then while he kissed down her body, her legs, he looked up to found her asleep. So Steffon was alone in a woman’s bed, with a naked woman next to him and a respectable boner.
“Are those glasses yours?” Cassana asked, coming out of the bathroom in a single towel, moving to her wardrobe, looking for her clothes.
“Yes. I use contacts. I took them off last night after you fell asleep.”
“Fell asleep?” she asked, and then he could read recognition in her face. “Ohh… I’m so sorry,” she whispered, coming closer to him. “I was just tired. I promised I’ll make up to you on the weekend.”
“Don’t worry about it,” he smiled, getting up from the bed.
“I really liked your surprise last night. I’m sorry if you’re disappointed.”
“I’m not, Cassana. I really liked spending time with you.”
“You can shower if you want,” she said, after smiling.
“Too tired. I’m going home and back to sleep.”
“Lucky you.” Steffon quickly pulled on his pants and shirt, while Cassana still took longer getting dressed, and arranging her hair.
“What do you want for breakfast?”
“I normally just eat a bowl of cereals.”
“If I can scramble eggs really quickly…”
“You would be my favorite person in the entire world,” she yelled back from her room, as he got everything ready.
The eggs were quick to prepare, as well as a fresh pot of coffee for her, and a few toasts; and when she entered the room again, dressed in her skirt suit and with her hair up, he had the plates on the table, ready.
“Thank you so much, Steffon,” she said, giving him a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek.
Steffon held himself up, so he wouldn’t fall asleep on his plate, while this time Cassana did all the talking – she was a morning person, while he was night person, he realized.
“Are you sure you don’t want coffee?”
“It won’t be a good idea if I wanna go home and sleep a bit longer.”
“I feel jealous of your schedule. I wish I could sleep more.”
“Yeah, but if you did, you wouldn’t have the income you have. I’m still looking for a roommate; I’m supposed to receive someone today.”
“Good luck. And I hope I can see your apartment soon. The weekend? We can spend a real night together,” she asked smiling.
“Last night wasn’t bad…” he told her.
“It wasn’t what either of us wanted, I fell asleep, Steffon,” she said laughing a bit.
“Okay. The weekend it is.”
“I still won’t oppose to dinner with you if you want.” With that, he knew he would try to surprise her more often. “Or lunch.”
They finished eating, and after he packed the rest of his things, he walked her to the metro station, he kissed her on the lips as they went on different directions.
Steffon had a short trip home, and when he finally got home – he fell onto the bed.
***
Cassana couldn’t believe they had been dating for three months, that was some kind of record for her, at least in adult relationships – she had a rather long relationship in high school. And she was happy with him.
They mostly hang out on the weekends, or when he waited for her after work, and they had dinner together, and then fall asleep together – he even had a key now, so he could see himself out of her house in the mornings.
And today was his birthday, and she was still stuck in the office. She had talked with her boss on Monday, but it was Thursday and he seemed to have forgotten that he had agreed to her request. She was now going to play her last card with her boss.
“Mr Targaryen and Mr Lannister are at the dinner. I could speak to them about–”
“I’ll get you the files,” he said. “You need to go over everything with them.”
“Of course.” I’m going out!! she celebrated. She got the files from her boss, and left for the metro station; she pretty much ran to his apartment.
She rang the door, and her boyfriend’s roommate buzzed her in; his apartment’s door was opened, and she could hear Tywin complaining about his party being here and not at his own house.
“It’s his party, Tywin. Stop complaining,” Rhaella said.
“You always had them at ours.”
“Hi,” Cassana greeted interrupting them. “I’m so sorry I was late – my boss wouldn’t let me leave,” she said, entering the apartment and closing the door behind her.
“Cassie,” Steffon ran to her, and picked her up. “You’re finally here.”
“Sorry, I’m late, Steff. And happy birthday,” she said, kissing him on the mouth, and then all over his face.
“I’m just glad you got here,” he told her, putting her down, finally looking at her hands. “Do you have a lot of work?”
“Nah… My boss wasn’t letting him leave, but I finally convinced him when I told him Tywin and Aerys would be here.”
“So you need to work?” he asked her again, looking a bit disappointed.
“No, as long as your friends pretend I told them about the stupid plan my boss has been calling them about all week.”
“Can he not take a hint?!” Aerys complaining. “There’s a reason behind not answering his calls.”
“Hi, Aerys,” she said putting the files down. After three months of dating, she was finally completely comfortable with calling them by their first name. “Tywin,” she nodded at him.
“Cassana is good to see you again,” Rhaella said, as they hugged each other, and then Joanna joined. Cassana liked both girls, but she still felt a bit weird hanging out with them – they were really close, and had all kind of private jokes.
“Little Rhaegar,” she said kissing him on the head.
“You remember Barristan, right?” her boyfriend asked, pointing to his new roommate.
“Yes, it’s great to see you again. I hope he hasn’t been too much of a bother.”
“Hey!! I’m a great guy,” Steffon complained. “You were waiting for you to start the movie, the pizza is already here too.”
Everyone took their seats in the living room; Steffon and Cassana took the love chair, Tywin took the other one, with Joanna on the couch but sitting on the side closest to him, Rhaella and Aerys took the rest of the couch with their son, and Barristan took the bean bag chair. Cassana reached for a slice of pizza as the movie started.
The movie was fun, somehow it seemed more fun that going out and drinking, and Steffon seemed to be having the time of his life. After the movie, and putting Rhaegar asleep on Steffon’s room, they took up drinking, which then led to a drinking game, much to Tywin’s complaining that they were too old.
“We should be careful,” Barristan warned.
“Sure, but you know you’re off the clock, right?!” Steffon asked him, concerning his work as a policeman. “Okay, now truth or dare?!”
“Sure,” Joanna exclaimed excited, before turning to Rhaella. “But it’s weird to be playing without Princess.” Cassana had heard the name Princess a lot when they went out, it seemed she was their best friend, who lived in Dorne.
“Who goes first?” Aerys asked.
“I think it should be Steffon. It’s his birthday after all,” Barristan said, standing up to get a bottle.
“Thank you, Selmy,” Rhaella said.
Steffon spun the bottle, and it landed on Tywin.
“Truth or dare?”
“Do I really need…” he complained, but Joanna stopped him by resting her hand on his leg.
“Dare.”
“Run outside naked.”
“No.”
“Why not? Are you a chicken?”
“No. I’m a respectable adult, with an important job.”
“Okay, so we get to punch you,” Steffon argued, and Tywin agreed; Cassana went soft on the punch, as did some of the others, but Steffon and Aerys put force behind the punch, and Joanna too.
“It’s my right as his wife. Now it’s your turn to spin the bottle.” Tywin’s spun the bottle and this time landed on Barristan, and as a young officer, he chose truth.
“What’s your favorite colour?”
“Really, Ty…” Joanna argued, but Barristan happily answered.
“Dark yellow.”
“I can’t believe you wasted a question on that,” Rhaella complained too. Barristan’s dare was just as chaste to Rhaella, who then took her shot with the birthday boy.
“Next stand up act, you wear a skirt.”
“Okay.”
“But you really need to do it.”
“I will, I promise. You can hold on to my driving license until the stand-up act.”
“Steffon, you shouldn’t…”
“Come on, Selmy. I trust Rhae, she’s not gonna loose my driving license, and I totally mean to keep up my end of the deal,” Steffon answered. “Now it’s my turn, and now it’s Jo’s – truth or dare.”
“Truth. Bring your best.”
“Weirdest thing Tywin has ever done?”
“Tywin is not big on weird, and I bet his weirdest ideas were Aerys’ or yours. But there was one time, it’s not weird, just a bit crazy by his standards, I flew out to the United States for a big audience, and he followed me. We had fought about the audition and everything, but he waited for me at the studio’s door and told me he would support me with my plans.”
“I know that story. And I was hoping for something embarrassing.”
“Sorry… Tywin does not embarrass himself that much.”
“Just spin the damn bottle.”
“Dare,” Cassana answered when it stopped on her.
“I dare you to change your facebook status to married, and take a photo with a vodka bottle – looking drunk, please.”
“People will think…”
“We can punch you,” Cassana didn’t like the idea of being punched, so she asked.
“When do I get to change it?”
“When your parents call you asking about it.”
“Okay…” she picked up her phone, and posted everything on facebook as Joanna asked, turning off the internet, so she wouldn’t get the notifications for now.
Cassana asked what was called a lame question to Tywin, who thanked her for that. The next not lame question came from Steffon for Rhaella.
“Where’s the oddest place you’ve had sex?
“Not the oddest, but I think you will like this one – Tywin’s desk at work.”
“Why?! Why did you say that?” Tywin complained.
“The doc cleared Rhaella for sex after Rhaegar’s birth,” Aerys answered. “And Rhaegar was sleeping in my office.”
“Disgusting…”
Only four more turns before they all quit the game, since Rhaegar had started to cry, like it was a warning for the late hour. Before they finally said goodbye, they sang happy birthday, blowing out the candles and then ate a slice of cake; and the only thing left was to give him the presents – he got a few new shirts, books and a wristwatch. After that Steffon showed everyone out of her apartment, and quickly after Barristan retired to his room as well.
“Do you need to leave too?” Steffon asked when they were alone.
“No. I have clothes, and I’ll get up a bit earlier to make my way there.”
“Even earlier…”
“You can still sleep, Steff.”
“Barristan gets up earlier too.”
“So maybe I can have breakfast with him,” she said with a smile. “Go on to your room, I have to get something ready in the bathroom.”
Alone, she took off her clothes, looking at herself only in a lingerie she had picked up on purpose for this night, she pulled her hair back, so he could have the pleasure of freeing it, and left to go to his room. Steffon was already in bed, with his glasses instead of his contacts, and only in his boxers.
“You look amazing, Cassie.” She smiled, and climbed in bed with him.
***
Eight months of dating, and mostly petty fights – what to do for dinner, where to go on the weekend, what to watch on Netflix – around four fights a bit more serious – mostly about her work schedule – but last night, they had their one and only very very serious fight. Steffon didn’t regret the fight, they had needed that conversation, but she had left the house and hadn’t picked up any of the phonecalls, and she had packed up her stuff yesterday before leaving his apartment.
Steffon had started the fight – his old family motto had been Ours is The Fury, maybe that was why he exploded yesterday.
Yesterday had been a big day for him, he had gotten a stand-up act opportunity on one of the biggest stages in King’s Landing. The same stage where some TV corporate people stopped by, looking for either actors or writers (he thought he would like to be a comedy writer).
Everyone had come, even his parents had travelled for this, Cassana had promised she would come, but then she didn’t appear. Up in the stage, he had tried to look for her in the crowd, and while he found his friends and family in the crowd, there was an empty place where she was supposed to be.
Cassana hadn’t picked up any of his phonecalls; she missed the performance, she missed dinner with his friends and parents. He had been looking forward to introduce her to his parents, but she just skipped it.
She appeared on his apartment when he was already asleep, she used her key, and climbed in bed with him, whispering that she was sorry; and then their biggest fight started – he was just glad Barristan had a night shift that day.
He couldn’t remember everything that was said, but some harsh words were shared. Somehow Cassana yelled that her job was more important than his stand-up acts, and then he finally left out the resentment of how much she worked.
She left after that, she emptied her shelves and left. The shelves were still opened, where before her clothes had been, the only things that she left on her apartment were her bathroom stuff.
Steffon tried to call her a few times this morning, but she hadn’t answered any; he even tried to call her office, but the receptionist told him that Cassana hadn’t even been in today – she never missed work, not even when she got that awful cold, that ended up with her spending the entire weekend in bed.
“Hey, Steff. Are you in there?” Barristan said knocking on his bedroom’s door. “I just got back. Do you want lunch?”
“I’m here. But I’m not really in the mood to eat.”
“Can I come in?” Barristan asked again, and Steffon agreed. “What’s wrong? Your room…”
“I think Cassie and I broke up, Selmy… She stormed off from here yesterday, after we fought.”
“Was it about your stand-up act?”
“Yeah, it started about that, and her job…”
“You should call her.”
“I tried, she doesn’t pick up. And she’s not at her job.”
“Okay. You’re going to eat now, because I’m sure you haven’t eaten anything today, and then we’re going to her apartment, so you two can talk.”
Steffon agreed, got himself out of his bed and sat at the kitchen table, as Barristan heated up some frozen food for them, and got him a cup of water, telling him that alcohol wasn’t a good idea right now.
They ate together, with his roommate insisting for him to eat more and more, before he got him to change his clothes and walked with him to the metro station and then to Cassana’s home.
At her home, she didn’t open the door to him, and she didn’t come to the window when he called for her, and she didn’t even text him to go away. He continued to try to call her, but she never answered him; they didn’t talk for months, not until she found him again, in one of her business meetings – he had taken a miserable job at Tywin and Aerys’ firm.
***
2 Years Later
Cassana was behind the counter, looking over her husband as he talked to one of their costumers, who after a few minutes left the store empty handed.
“What was he looking for?”
“Surf boards. Yes, he liked ours,” he said immediately noticing that she was probably going to point out he left empty handed. “He’s going to stop by later, when he has his kids with him.”
“Good,” she answered. “The business has been slow this week.”
“It’s winter, Cassie. We knew the risks when we entered this business.” She had known the risks when she decided to quit and built up this business with him, but it was good, she had fun, and she didn’t have to deal with idiot bosses. Steffon did what he liked – talking with people, getting to know them, and hopefully sell them something – and she did what she liked and was good at as well – she handled the papers and the deals.
“This will be better when I get the permit to sell food and drinks at the store.”
“There’s still a summer business.”
“Surfists need to eat, and the young couples who visit the beach for a romantic walk. How good doesn’t a piece of cake tastes at the end of the day, with a cup of hot coco?” she argued.
“Another one of your cravings,” he said, resting his elbow on the counter. “Or our little surfer’s craving?”
“Or lawyer,” she said, resting her hand on her expanding belly.
“He’s gonna be a surfer. Growing up next to the beach.” Cassana liked the idea of her son taking up surf and other sports, and as a son of Stormlands – it was only appropriate for him to grow up next to the storming Narrow Sea – but she wouldn’t mind having someone to follow on her footsteps too. She still did work as a lawyer, she normally just advised, but she had also gone to court a few times; she charged a small price for this work, and the people at Storm’s End came to really like her for that.
The opening of the door called her attention back to reality, but his kiss still surprised her, especially with the right after kiss on her belly. Cassana tried to shy away, since she didn’t particularly liked PDA, but Steffon had a cute smile on his face, so she let him give her a quick kiss again, as he rubbed her belly.
“I’ll be back soon, you two. New costumer to attend to,” he told her with a smile, and then kept the smile as he walked up to the woman who just entered the shop. “Good morning. Do you need any help?” She smiled of how happy he looked, and how much happier and relaxed she was when she was with him – love does that to people.