Chapter Text
One look, dark room
Meant just for you
Time moved too fast
You play it back
Buttons on a coat
Light-hearted joke
No proof, not much
But you saw enough
~
Now
As Daenerys laid in bed that night – or rather morning, as the clock now showed 1am – she couldn’t stop the flood of memories of the past few weeks from flickering through her mind. What started as a standard all-faculty meeting for the professors at Winterfell University quickly turned into a night that felt like it could change her life forever.
Since that November night seven weeks ago, so much had happened. An early start of winter. A chance encounter. A heated first look between two souls meeting for the first time, but somehow felt like home.
Her mind was like a video tape in fast motion, their meeting and every subsequent moment together playing back in a series of delicate memories on repeat.
Daenerys was used to holding power in the courtroom and in many other facets of her life, but she was powerless in that moment to stop the slideshow behind her eyes.
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Then - November
Daenerys
The faculty meeting happened once a semester. It was a time for Tyrion, University President, to share updates and “encourage inter-department mingling,” as he liked to put it.
Still being new to Winterfell and the university, Daenerys wasn’t going to turn down the opportunity to (hopefully) get the chance to know some of her colleagues better.
She imagined most people weren’t too happy about this event falling on a Friday evening after classes, but still adjusting to life in the North she really wouldn’t have had much planned anyway. A call to her best friend, a movie, possibly wine, and cuddling with her three beasts was as exciting as things got for her these days.
Daenerys entered the great hall and pushed the thoughts of her social life (or lack thereof) aside to question how it could be so gods damn cold in here. She knew moving to the north would be an adjustment weather-wise, especially this time of year, but each time she stepped out into the chilly northern air she couldn’t help but berate herself for her… interesting choice in location.
Despite this, she was determined to not let the cold ruin her resolve to experience a true Northern Christmas complete with snow, holiday decorations, and most importantly – creating some happy memories. She was ready to move on from the previous 8 months of painful memories before arriving in Winterfell and she’d be damned if she didn’t take advantage of the cheer she knew the holidays could bring.
Not wanting to part with her warm winter jacket when she came up to the makeshift coat check in the hall, she burrowed in the warmth of her coat and scarf one last time, saying a silent prayer to the old gods and the new that someone would knock some sense into the person responsible for the unnaturally icy temperature in this room.
“You’d think they would have the heat full blast this time of year, I don’t blame you for not wantin’ to give that up” an amused voice burred beside her.
Daenerys’ fingers paused on her coat buttons as her eyes trailed over to meet those of the most handsome man she’s seen since arriving her in Winterfell… or maybe, she deliberated… ever?
His smoky grey eyes pierced hers and she instantly felt a shiver radiate through her body at hearing his norther burr.
For once, she was certain this shiver wasn’t an effect of the cold. She may have been questioning her choice in location from the chilly exterior, but she had to admit that hearing his accent was something she could get used to.
“Right… They might as well be having this thing outside” she quipped back with a small smile, trying to catch herself from staring embarrassingly.
The great hall was slightly dark, save for the glow of the ember lights lining each wall and hanging wooden chandeliers from the ceiling, making the look her returned even more smouldering.
After finishing the exchange of coats, they slowly trailed up the aisle with an unspoken agreement to stick together.
He stuck his hand out towards her. “Jon. My name’s Jon Snow, by the way.”
She smiled in return and shook his hand lightly. “Daenerys Targaryen.”
“I don’t think I’ve seen you around before. What do you teach?”
“Ahh, that would be because I just moved here. I’m a lawyer-turned-law professor. Just started teaching here in September actually.”
“Well, that would explain it then.” He paused as they continued walking. “How’s it been? You must be settling in now that you’ve got almost a full semester under your belt?”
“It’s been… good.” She replied with a determined nod of her head. “It’s been a change from the courtroom, that’s for sure, but I’m really liking being able to share what I know and challenging my students. What about you… what do you teach?”
“Medieval history” he said with an easy smile. “Been at it for about 3 years now.”
She somehow managed to continue their conversation despite being continuously distracted by the feel of him being so close and his overwhelming eyes.
Her goal was to try and get to know more people here, which she was accomplishing, wasn’t she? The fact that it was with a handsome man was just an added bonus.
While true, a deeper part of her mind kept resurfacing to remind her that this is not why she moved here, and she knew she needed to try and keep herself in check.
Before long, their conversation was interrupted by Tyrion greeting everyone and getting the meeting underway. She gave Jon a tight-lipped, regretful smile as they turned their attention towards the front of the hall.
An hour of information later, her fellow colleagues were starting to gather as the meeting came to a close. Some shifted towards each other to engage in academic conversations, while others made a beeline for the door. Jon fell into the latter.
“So I think I’m goin’ to head out. I know Tyrion likes us to mingle at these things, but I really can’t stand the small talk” he said while looking around the room, a slight furrow between his eyes.
“Oh sure, yeah I understand that.”
As his eyes slowly made their way back to hers, he paused for a moment before seemingly deciding something. “You wanna get outta here with me? There’s a coffee shop just down the street. You can tell me more about what brought you up north,” after a beat he added with an easy smile “and save us from disappointing Tyrion too much with his wish for us to socialise.”
She considered her next move. Their interactions were brief up until this point, a few sentences really. But somehow it was enough to leave her wanting more. Talking with him, looking at him, being near him made her forget every painful memory that brought her to Winterfell in the first place, and so Daenerys ignored the voice of warning in the back of her head to say their good-byes right here.
She had originally planned on networking with some of the other professors, but meeting one new person was enough for the night, she decided. A slow smile crept up her face before she replied. “Yeah, let’s go. Wouldn’t dream of disappointing Tyrion.”
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Small talk, he drives
Coffee at midnight
The light reflects
The chain on your neck
He says, "Look up"
And your shoulders brush
No proof, one touch
But you felt enough
You can hear it in the silence, silence, you
You can feel it on the way home, way home, you
You can see it with the lights out, lights out
You are in love, true love
You are in love
Jon
The moment he first laid eyes on her, it felt like the world stopped and his breath was stolen right from his chest. He knew this was cliché, but gods when you feel it, you feel it.
He noticed her as soon she walked in, instantly recognizing who she was. He had heard of the legendary Dragon Queen through the university grapevine but had yet to meet her, their two departments rarely coming together. The campus was on the small side so word travelled quick of the young yet fierce lawyer being scooped up to come teach in the north.
Her silver tresses made her stand out immediately, which was his first clue. At this point he also knew – or could at least recognize – most faculty members, so having not seen her before gave him his second inkling. His suspicions were confirmed later when, thank the gods, he had the gall to start and maintain a conversation at the coat check.
Her reputation in the courtroom preceded her, and for that he was obviously impressed. But seeing her in the flesh was something else entirely. If he thought his first look at her from afar took his breath away, the moment their eyes met shook him to his core. He felt warmth and a touch of fire in her violet orbs when they met his, a hint of a smirk from his lousy heater joke playing at her lips.
The time in which it took her to reply made him nervous, regretting his attempt at a conversation about the lack of heat, of all things, but little did he know that her hesitation had little to do with his choice of words and all to do with feeling the exact same magnetizing pull at their locked gaze.
After grabbing their coats on the way out, they started walking side by side down the street.
The blowing, wayward wind mirrored the swirl of thoughts and nerves racing through his mind.
Grateful. Lucky. Nervous. But mostly sheer wonder at his impulsiveness to ask Daenerys out to coffee this late after a long week.
Jon liked to keep things cordial with his fellow faculty members, no doubt, but he certainly wasn’t known for socializing. And truthfully, he was fine with that. This made his decision to ask her for coffee even more bizarre in his mind, however he was thankful he had the bravado in that moment to attempt to continue their night.
Pushing his jumping thoughts aside, he brought himself back to the current moment. It was only the second week of November but being this far up north meant that winter – and subsequently the cold – came early. She was bundled up, matching his quick pace beside her, yet he could see her shivering slightly from the corner of his eye despite the many layers.
“Just another block further” he encouraged.
She squeaked out what sounded like an “okay” while nodding her head and readjusting her scarf further up on her face.
Glancing quickly sideways, she managed a few words. “How do you seem so fine? Your ears, your neck… your nose! Tell me I didn’t just agree to coffee a robot slash wizard that doesn’t feel the cold?”
He chuckled. “Aye, I guess I don’t feel it too much. But I have northern blood running through me,” after a thoughtful pause he added, “Unfortunately no wizard blood, though,” he noted with an added smirk.
Her wide eyes looked back at him with confusion at how anyone could possibly feel fine, northern blood or not, in these temperatures.
“Just wait until it really hits, looks like you might need to need to double your efforts. Winter is coming.”
Thankfully they were reaching their destination as he was starting to get worried that she might actually pass out from the frigidness.
She shook her head as she walked up to the door behind him. “It’s only November! We have time before winter hits, don’t we?”
He held the door open for her. “You’re in the North now, Dany.”
Her gaze lingered on his in shock as this nickname that slipped out. He wasn’t sure where it came from, but it just felt natural.
When they finally moved past the doorway, the warmth of the 24-hour café hit him like a cozy ton of bricks. It wasn’t anything fancy, but it was one of his favourite spots in town. Being so close to the university was even more of a bonus.
It was only November, but the Christmas decorations were already out in full swing, typical of the town. It was the north, after all.
Warm lights and garland lined the counters and booth tops, a fresh pine-smelling Christmas tree was nestled in the corner gleaming with string lights, and subtle jazzy festive music swirling through the air.
“How have I not discovered this place yet? It’s wonderful” Daenerys looked around in amazement.
“Take a seat, I’ll grab us something warm to drink. Coffee?”
“Yes please, with milk,” she requested as she sat down and started unravelling her winter wear.
When he returned to their table, drinks in hand, he couldn’t help but take in her adorable rosy, cheeks and contented smile. She murmured her thanks as she took her first sip, elated at the extra source of heat.
“So we got as far as you being new here… and I’m guessing from your reaction to the cold you moved from somewhere warmer?”
Daenerys nodded and explained how after graduating from law school in Essos, she began working at her brother’s law firm where she quickly excelled. Her passion for law and her profession was clear to him, as was her passion for helping others.
“I love the courtroom and using my voice for good, but I felt like I needed a change. When one of my old professors reached out about a posting here in Winterfell, I considered it, accepted it, and the rest is history,” she shrugged with a smile.
He got a feeling that there was more to the story than simply needing a change. It seemed odd that someone as passionate about their career would suddenly want to up and leave, to somewhere with -30 degree Celsius weather no less, but he was getting ahead of himself.
Sticking with a safe reply, “it sounds like you really love what you do. And that’s wonderful that you use your talents for good. I’m sure your students are lucky to have you.”
Jon wondered if the pinkness on her cheeks was still from the cold, or his words.
“You flatter me, Jon Snow. I truly do hope that my teaching can have an impact on my students. Law is tough. But rewarding.”
After each taking another sip of their drinks, she continued, “have you always lived in the North?”
“Born and raised. Not sure what life would be like otherwise, truthfully” he chuckled. “I will admit that I do love travelling and seeing new places, but Winterfell just feels like home.”
A flicker of longing flit through her violet eyes. He knew how lucky he was to have such a strong feeling of home and a great support system in his family.
The next hour passed with them getting to know one another better, just scratching the surface on topics like school, their interests, and the parts of town she had and hadn’t had the chance to explore. He learned that she has three cats – her dragons – while he shared photos of his dog Ghost – his wolf, as he liked to call him – like the proud dog parent he is. She divulged in her plans to let everything-Christmas consume her over the next month, ultimately thanking him for introducing her to one more place she could add to her list of cozy and cheerful experiences.
Hearing her talk about these plans sent a pang of sadness through him. He could sense her longing for something, something that the joy of winter could easily provide. And it was in that moment that he resolved to do all he could to help her achieve this goal, if she’d let him.
While the conversation continued to flow naturally, he also noticed that there was a hesitancy on her part to divulge too much information every time he asked a more personal question. Sure, they had just met, and he certainly wasn’t expecting her to reveal all her deepest darkest secrets right off the bat. But it wasn’t hard to gather that she had built some pretty strong, concrete walls around her.
Truthfully, he had them too, but the longer he was around her, the more he actually wanted to chip away at them. It was a strange but surprisingly welcome feeling and he hoped that in time, maybe he could wield the chisel against her own, too.
~
When he caught her trying to stifle a yawn, he suggested (regretfully) that they call it a night.
As they started towards the door, Jon finally caught sight world outside the café. They’d been so caught up in their conversation that he didn’t realize it started snowing, leaving a good few inches of fluffy snow on the ground.
To Jon, this was just another everyday occurrence in his Northern life, but to Daenerys this was a big deal.
As they walked out into the night, Daenerys paused on the sidewalk and stated in wonder, “I guess you were right. Winter really is here, Jon Snow.”
Their shoulders brushed as she looked up to the sky.
Her beauty was obvious, but watching the glimmer of each intricate, unique snowflake land on her eyelashes drew his gaze further towards the purple and silver flecks in her eyes. He knew he’d never seen anything as beautiful in that moment and wished he could make time stop to explore those depths further.
“You know… I’ve never seen snow in real life before” she murmured as her gaze slowly returned to his from up in the sky.
The pure amazement in her eyes made his heart clench and squeeze, something he hadn’t felt in a long time. From their earlier conversation, Jon knew she was new to all-things winter, but it felt special getting to experience this moment with her.
“Well then, welcome to the true north, Dany.” He couldn’t help but smile back at her. A genuine smile couldn’t help but spread across his face, eyes crinkling in the corners.
They started slowly walking back up the street towards the school, her eyes never staying in one spot as she took the scenery in around her, and he asked where she was parked.
“I took the bus today actually. My car is in the shop getting ready for winter, new tires and all that. Good timing, I guess.”
“It’s late, let me drive you home,” he suggested gently.
“Oh no it’s okay,” she hesitated, “I really don’t want to inconvenience you. It’s getting late.”
“Nonsense. I really don’t mind. Plus, you’d have to wait out in the cold, and I’d feel awfully terrible if you were to get swept away by the snow all because I left you waiting at the bus stop,” he smirked.
He could see her considering, knowing that having to wait in the cold wasn’t something she was keen on.
Finally, she decided. “You’re right. I can’t risk placing a lifetime of guilt on your shoulders. Make sure your conscience stays clear and all.”
The walk back to his SUV was mostly quiet save for the crunch of their feet in the snow.
Before they knew it, they were warming up on the drive to Daenerys’ place (that wasn’t too far from his, he noted) and had pulled up to her building.
“Well Jon Snow…” she started, “my goal tonight was to take Tyrion up on his encouragement to meet some new faculty members, and while I can’t say I achieved that in the plural sense, I had a wonderful time meeting you,” she smiled at him from her seat. “Thank you for the conversation, the coffee… and most notably keeping me from freezing to death at the bus stop” she joked as she unbuckled her seat belt.
He smiled back at her. “Anytime. I had a lovely evening as well.”
Another surge of confidence hit him when he asked for her number, but he quickly began kicking himself internally at how un-smooth he was going about it. To an outsider this had to be comical, but to Jon a part of him wished the car seat would just swallow him whole.
He continued anyway, “you know, in case you get caught in the snow, or something… in the future” he trailed off.
Surely, she could see straight through his lousy excuse, but if it meant he could continue whatever this was, he decided he’d take that chance.
With a sly look on her face and a quirked eyebrow she replied, “Of course.”
Yep. Confirmed. She saw right through it.
A few moments later, she handed his phone back. “Done. Don’t be surprised if I hit you up for some tips on keeping warm now that the snow is here. You might actually regret this” she joked as she looked between his phone and him.
“Oh Dany, what have I gotten myself into,” he bantered back.
She hopped out of his car as she called “Night, Jon.”
“Have a nice night, Daenerys.”
He waited until she was safely inside before pulling away towards home. He was in trouble. Deep, deep trouble. On his drive, he truly did wonder what he’s gotten himself into.
❄️ ❄️ ❄️
Daenerys
Jon Snow. Charming. Handsome. Broody exterior. Kind interior. And most of all, unexpected.
She tried. Oh she tried to push the feelings of Jon away. Her mind forcibly telling her she doesn’t need to get caught up in lust, or romance. Not after her last relationship gone wrong. She’d previously been foolish in love and now kept her heart guarded as a result. Why would she ever need more than her 3 cats? She needed to focus on her work and continuing to build herself back up.
But the heat she felt after her encounter with Jon couldn’t be ignored. The thought of his smile, his kind eyes, the timbre of his voice when he told a joke or the crinkle at his eyes when he laughed. The spark she felt was instant and she’s sure he felt it too.
As she lay in bed willing herself to sleep, she pondered this slippery slope further. Maybe, just maybe, he was worth letting in. Daenerys knew she couldn’t enter this, or anything, with blind trust. Nevertheless, in those short moments together she saw enough of him to see his genuineness, his kind heart.
In the comfortable silences, in the car ride home, and in the darkness of the night (brightened only by the reflection of the white fluffy snow) could she hear, feel, and see something she told herself she would never have again.
In that moment she let the thought of him stoke the flames of fire around her heart, warming her up from the inside out. Each flame held hope, desire, and most surprising of all a brightness for the future. It was only one night. But for the first time in a while, she decided she might just let this flicker of fire and warmth, on this otherwise cold winter night, turn into a blaze.