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The Harrenhal Hotel was once a hotel of splendor and opulence back in its heyday in the 1970s and 80s. After a great fire, the Harrenhal was visited less frequently, perhaps because people believed the hotel was cursed. Still, the Harrenhal remains in operation, as the fire didn't completely burn the needlessly large hotel, but it is frequently under new management because zealous businessmen soon realize what a poor investment the hotel is. So, the Harrenhal stands as a weird time capsule of a building, with its wilting floral patterns and shag carpeting and occasional water beds. It's a place where people go for some much-wanted hedonism or for a place to lay low when on the run.
Jaime Lannister stays at the Harrenhal for the latter reason.
In Jaime's opinion, staying at the Harrenhal is a genius idea. Although their father used to own the place before giving up on it, his sister would never suspect that he'd stay here. Cersei would arrogantly assume he'd stay at some five-star hotel or a cheap motel on the highway, never some relic of the past that barely stays in operation. So, if she is looking for him, Jaime is technically hiding right under her nose.
Of course, he hopes she's not looking for him. More than that, Jaime hopes she doesn't find him, as it'd be much harder for him to escape in a pair of cheap, slightly-too-large swimming trunks. Also, Jaime really doesn't want to leave this pool. It's one of the few redeeming features of the Harrenhal, even though it was once a cesspool of ash and debris from the fire. One of the owners of the hotel knew this, too, as he put up a now-fading billboard advertising the heated outdoor pool. And it's not a false advertisement, either, as Jaime has come to understand. The pool is indeed heated, and it provides a nice contrast to the chill October wind breezing over Jaime's shoulders. The scent of chlorine is nearly suffocating, but the relaxing warmth of the water keeps Jaime in place. He closes his eyes, nearly shutting out the blue LEDs that illuminate the pool, and rests his head against the edge of the pool, listening to the music playing lowly from the nearby speakers. Jaime could swear that the song is recent, yet it sounds like it was from the 70s or something. Either way, it doesn't matter to Jaime. He likes being alone in the pool with just the music keeping him company.
Jaime's solitude ends when he hears the water ripple upon someone's entrance. He opens his eyes and finds-
"Brienne?"
The blonde woman stops halfway into her descent from the ladder when Jaime says her name. Her wide eyes express confusion and bashfulness, and Jaime hopes he doesn't look the same way as he takes in her statuesque figure clad in a simple blue swimsuit.
"Jaime?"
"What are you doing here?"
"What are you doing here?" Brienne echoes, now standing in the pool. "Everyone in King's Landing was talking about how you disappeared."
"Word got out that fast, huh?" Jaime muses. He assumed Cersei would keep his disappearance under wraps, but apparently, she did not.
"Why'd you leave?"
"I needed a change of scenery," Jaime answers with a wry smirk. Brienne gives a no-nonsense look in return, expecting the truth from Jaime. However, it's hard for Jaime to say why he's leaving behind his family's corrupt legacy and with it his domineering sister who grows mad with power each day. Perhaps it's because it's not on-brand for Jaime to have a change of heart, and therefore, no one would believe he's actually trying to be a decent person - an honorable man - for once in his life.
"Bullshit," Brienne retorts. "You're running away, aren't you?"
"Maybe-" another disapproving look from Brienne "-okay, it's not technically running away."
"Then what would you call it?"
"Getting out of a shitty situation," Jaime admits. "You still didn't say why you're here."
"I'm stopping for the night."
"Obviously. Where're you going?"
"North. Why do you care?"
"I thought I could get a destination idea from you."
"Can you stop with the smartass answers?" Brienne questions frustratedly.
"Sorry," he mutters. "I was planning on going to the North, anyways."
"What for?"
"I owe the Starks an apology," Jaime admits, looking off to the side. "Lots of apologies, really."
"That doesn't sound like you."
"No shit."
"So, what's inspired the change, then?" Brienne rests her arm on the edge of the pool and crosses one leg over the other from her seat on the underwater ledge. She stares Jaime down with an inquisitive gaze, and it can't help but intimidate Jaime a little. He knows she's trying to get the honest, non-sarcastic answer from Jaime, and that's why he says the truth despite his reluctance.
"You."
The intimidating gaze quickly changes into a baffled stare that makes Jaime want to laugh.
"Did you really not expect that?" he asks.
"No."
"Well, it's the truth."
Brienne hesitates, keeping her eyes on the blue water. "I didn't think I could change you."
"Because you thought I couldn't change?"
Brienne narrows her eyes at him. "You could change, Jaime; you're just stubborn."
"I'm not stubborn," Jaime retorts before he realizes the irony in what he just said. "Well, I'm not always stubborn."
Brienne rolls her eyes. "You don't think that Cersei will be hunting for you?"
Jaime snorts. "Like she gives a shit about me now. She's looked at me like a monster ever since this," he raises the stump where his right hand once was and where his prosthetic replacement usually rests. "Then she tries to kill me because she thought I wanted her to give up her power."
"That's why you left."
"I suppose." Why would Jaime stay with someone who never truly loved him and would be willing to kill him? That should be the only reason he needs to leave Cersei; however, it's not the only reason.
When he was forced to travel from Winterfell to King's Landing with Brienne, Jaime wanted nothing to do with the woman. Then he saved her- and she him- and things changed. Jaime found himself desiring the kind of goodness the Brienne possessed, and he slowly became less complacent with what his family had been doing for many years. Yet Jaime did not leave his family, especially Cersei. He still loved his sister, and a brother's love trumped the desire to change. Of course, the love was gone when Cersei threatened to kill him for merely implicating that she give up her position at their father's company. Still, when he was devoted to Cersei, Jaime thought that nothing could replace his love for Cersei. Jaime didn't realize then that something was replacing his love for Cersei.
From an outsider's perspective, Brienne would not be a good match for Jaime. Many would not consider Brienne beautiful enough for a relationship, and many would also consider Jaime to be shallow enough to only want conventionally attractive women. Even then, some would also believe that the loyal Brienne would never fall for the treacherous Jaime, and they're probably right. For a while, Jaime believed the same things that everyone else did, but that didn't stop him from dreaming about her. Then he started to change, no doubt because of Brienne's influence, and even though he still believed that Brienne thought of him as dishonest and immoral, Jaime hoped she would change her mind. That thought lingered in the back of his mind, and the desire for her approval turned into a desire for her without Jaime's knowing. However, his devotion to Cersei kept those desires at bay, but once Jaime realized he couldn't stay with Cersei any longer, the desire to be with Brienne became all-consuming. It's why he's leaving Cersei and King's Landing behind and going to Brienne.
"Are you alright?" Brienne asks.
Jaime realizes he's been staring at least the middle distance if not at Brienne. "Blue's a good color on you," he blurts out and immediately regrets saying.
"Thank you?"
"That's not what I mean to say - not that what I did say isn't true." He looks at Brienne, sees the confusion on her face, and looks away, "Right, what am I trying to say?"
"I would like to know."
"I didn't leave just because of Cersei. There was something else," he turns his eyes back to Brienne, "someone else."
There's a silence that not even the music playing from the speakers can break. Jaime and Brienne keep their eyes locked onto each other, and Jaime realizes that she does look beautiful in the pool's blue lights.
"What makes you think this someone will believe that you won't go back to Cersei?"
"Because this someone will know that I'm done with Cersei."
"You're her brother.
"And she'd rather kill her brother than give up her control." Jaime looks down at his hand skimming over the water, "I can't stay with her anymore. They were right about her - Tyrion, the bloody Tyrells. I wasted my life trying to get her approval, and I don't want to waste whatever I have left on her. I want to spend it with this someone instead." He lifts his eyes back to Brienne, and he makes sure to keep them on her even though he's nervous to look. "You, Brienne."
Jaime watches the variegation of emotions that plays across Brienne's face. There's no doubt that a million thoughts are racing through her head, as this is probably the first time anyone's ever confessed his love for her. At least, Jaime hopes he made that clear, because maybe Brienne doesn't know what he's trying to say. He thinks he should say something, but would that make him sound too redundant? Too condescending?
In the time that Jaime ponders restating his love confession, he fails to notice Brienne gliding through the water in his direction until she is right in front of him.
There's a moment where everything seems to stop for Jaime. The music stops playing. The water ceases lapping against his arms. He doesn't register the scent of chlorine. His heart pauses, and a breath that was on its way out halts in anticipation. All of this because Brienne is standing - well, kneeling - in front of him. She's close enough that she takes up much of Jaime's vision but far enough that it suggests that either of them could make a move.
"It's bloody hot in here," Jaime admits with no thought whatsoever.
"It's a heated pool."
"You're right." It's then that Jaime closes the gap and kisses Brienne. He has to lean forward to reach Brienne, but when she places her hands on the side of his face, Jaime leans back, taking Brienne with him. In some ways, he feels like he's bringing a mermaid closer to him. He feels her legs straddle his as he secures his right arm around her waist and entangles his left hand in her short hair. With every slip of the tongue and press of her teeth on his bottom lip, Jaime feels more alive in this moment than he has ever felt in his life. In the back of his mind he thinks that Cersei could never do anything to give him the feeling he has now, but he'd rather not think about her right now.
"You're a terrible flirt," Brienne says in between chaste kisses.
A carefree chuckle escapes Jaime. "Like you're any better," he jokes, gently tilting Brienne's head so he can press a kiss to her neck.
"Oh, screw you."
"In your room or my room?" Brienne gives him a surprised but impressed look. "Not bad for a terrible flirt, huh?" he says.
The bored receptionist in the Harrenhal pays little attention to the two guests that checked in separately last night but are leaving hand-in-hand today. Therefore, he doesn't realize that those two guests are set out for a new chapter in their lives, one that involves each other, and that it all started at a relic of a hotel thought to be cursed. As it turns out, love blooms in the most unlikely places.